The Israeli Air Force has decided to scale back its participation in the Red Flag exercise in Alaska amid increasing tensions on Israel’s northern border.
“In light of the situational assessment by the Air Force it was decided to adjust the planes’ participation in the exercise,” read a statement by the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit, stressing that nonetheless, “Israel’s first participation in the Red Flag exercise in Alaska will take place as planned.” [IDF = Israel Defense Forces]
According to a statement by Air Force public affairs officer Kitsana Dounglomchan, Israel’s Air Force decided not to send F-15 fighter jets to the two-week-long drill, which will run between April 26 - May 11, out of Eielson Air Force base in Fairbanks and Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage.
[Quotation from Jerusalem Post on 22 April, 2018, at 16:04 local time]
Israeli Navy names new SA'AR 6 warships arriving from Germany.
On Sunday, Israeli Navy Commander Maj.-Gen. Eli Sharvit announced that the four ships would be named "Magen," "Oz," "Independence" and "Triumph". The decision on the names was determined by a forum headed by the Navy, led by Sharvit.
..........
Israel is highly dependent on the sea, with over 90% of Israel’s imports arriving via the sea, and while the country’s navy is relatively small compared to other IDF corps, it has a significant amount of territory to protect since the expansion of the country’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) from 40 miles to 150 miles from shore years ago.
While there is no hermetic protection on the sea, due to the threat posed by Hezbollah’s arsenal of Grad rockets and other longer-range projectiles, the navy has upgraded its weapons and defensive systems on its entire combat fleet.
“You can how see the ships are taking shape these days,” Sharvit said. “The arrival of the ships is expected to significantly change the face of the Navy."
“The Navy will employ tools with new capabilities that we do not possess today with excellent and precise defense and attack capabilities for their mission, headed by the defense of the strategic assets of the State of Israel at sea,” he continued.
The construction of the four “Sa'ar-6” class warships was agreed to in a 430 million euro deal between Israel and the German company ThyssenKrupp in 2015.
The first ship is expected to arrive at the end of 2019 with the last by 2021.
Existing Sa’ar-5 and Sa’ar 4.5 ships are being upgraded with the integration of new radars and electronic warfare systems, Israel is set to receive new Dolphin-class submarines and new Sa’ar-6 Corvettes in coming years which are set to be operational by 2021. The Sa’ar 6 will have a crew of 70 sailors, a range of 2500 miles, and advanced capabilities able to deal with a wide range of threats including Iron Dome short range defense missile launchers and Barak-8 long-range surface-to-air missile naval defense system.
They are set to defend Israel’s offshore natural gas reserves as well as other strategic maritime assets.
“The bread and butter of the Sa’ar 6 are its defense and offensive capabilities,” a senior officer stated in February. “I wish we could have this ship on our waters, right now.”
..... and some submarines in addition.
[Quotation from Jerusalem Post on 22 April, 2018, at 17:02 local time]
صحيفة تتوقع أن يكون الرد الإيراني على "إسرائيل" في 15 مايو
Some journal predicts the Iranian response to "Israel" for May 15.
Photo above: Iranian Revolutionary Guards
[Palestine Today فلسطين اليوم on 22 April 2018]
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