According to Agence France-Presse, Israel successfully test fired an improved Patriot missile PAC-3 as part of efforts to upgrade the country's radar system after last year's war against Hezbollah. The test-firing was conducted Dec. 18 in southern Israel as part of series of improvements conducted in the missile's operational system toward a new radar system that enables a wider cover and detection ranges. The experiment launched the missile at a target imitating an airplane flying on an operational mission.
In August, it was reported that the Israeli Air Force was to buy advanced Patriot PAC-3 missiles, made in the United States and capable of intercepting aircraft and long-range ballistic missiles, to upgrade the air defense system.

The PAC-3 is designed to provide hit-to-kill lethality against high-speed tactical ballistic missiles; maneuvering tactical missiles, low-radar cross-section, long-range targets in operational environments, cruise missiles and other air-breathing aircraft. The three software improvements are: PATRIOT and THAAD interoperability that optimize the warfighting capability of PATRIOT and THAAD, Joint TMD interoperability that provides the capability to receive and transmit tactical ballistic missile-related data in a joint-services environment, and launch point determination to calculate tactical ballistic missile launch points.

Weighing 700 pounds, the missile increases the firepower of the Patriot battery, as 16 of them fit on a launcher, compared with four PAC-2s.
Israel first deployed the Patriot system in 1991, when then Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein fired Scuds at their country during the first Gulf War.

RSS    Save to Del.icio.us  Digg This