A new American-developed and -staffed radar installation has been deployed in the Negev desert in southern Israel, marking the first permanent deployment of U.S. military personnel in Israel, the Defense News newsite reported
The new radar, produced by American military manufacturer Raytheon and known as the FBX –Thanks, will be connected to the U.S. Joint Tactical Ground Station located in Europe, which receives and processes threat data from American satellites. From there the information will be forwarded to the radar station in Israel and the Israeli army’s anti missile Arrow weapons system.
The main advantage of the new radar is that it will double or even triple the range at which Israel can detect Iranian missiles, giving the defense establishment more time to intercept the missiles.
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadi Nejad has on numerous occasions called for the destruction of Israel and has warned Israel against trying to abort the country’s alleged nuclear program, as Israel did in 1981 when it launched an air raid against Iraq’s nuclear weapons program based in Osirak, outside the capital Baghdad.
While calls for a similar operation have been voiced, experts agree that it would be a vastly more difficult task today due both the longer distance and because Iran has learned the lessons of 1981 and has not only fortified its sites better but has also scattered them across the country.