Wizdom
14-07-08, 21:00
'Greece helped Israel study S-300'
By JPOST.COM STAFF
Greece assisted the Israeli Air Force last month in more than just allowing the use of its airspace, The Cutting Edge news Website reported Monday.
Russian S-300 missiles.
Photo: AP
Slideshow: Pictures of the week The Mediterranean country owns the same Russian radar, S-300, that Iran is soon to receive - or has already began receiving - from Moscow. Israel sees the S-300, which can simultaneously track hundreds of semi-stealth cruise missiles, long range missiles and aircraft, including airborne monitoring jets, as a significant threat to its entire airforce in the event of an attack on the Islamic Republic.
A massive air drill reportedly carried out by Israel in the first days of June over Greek airspace was publicized by The New York Times and generated powerful ripples, including warnings from Iran. But veteran investigative reporter Edwin Black writes in the Edge that a crucial aspect of the drill went unreported - Israel's trial run at defeating, jamming and circumventing the Russian system.
The Jerusalem Post could not confirm the report.
After Iran complained to Greece about the Israeli air maneuvers, officials in Athens said their Russian-made radar-missile batteries were "turned off" during the exercise. The Iranians, according to Black, were not convinced that Greece would really compromise its air defenses during such a crucial exercise.
The S-300 batteries Iran is expected to receive from Russia are from a newer generation than the Greek version, and are also matched with the S-300PMU-2 "Favorit," mobile missile batteries, codenamed by NATO "the Gargoyle." According to the Website, however, the missile batteries in Iran are not yet operational.
The Lockheed Martin F-35 Joint Strike Fighter.
Photo: Courtesy
Meanwhile, Black writes, Israel is courting the US Pentagon for permission to buy the F-35B "Lightning II" fighter, which was just recently unveiled. Apart from having stealth capabilities, the jet can also take off and land vertically, wihtout the use of a runway. Israel is trying to quickly purchase an entire squadron of the plane, valued at US $80 million apiece.
Any strike by Israel against Iran's nuclear facilities would involve hundreds of sorties, lasting many hours and requiring ad hoc bomb damage assessment (BDA) as airplanes went back again and again to attack targets until successful, Black analyzes. Because Natanz and other facilities are buried many feet below-ground, multiple synchronized attacks with bunker busters would have to be mounted as delayed munitions burrow deeper and deeper into the crater left by the previous bomb impact. It might take up to 20 or 40 pairs of BLU-113 penetrating bombs, each carrying more than 300 kg of high-explosive Tritonal warheads, to destroy the Natanz underground halls housing centrifuges. Israel's long-range, heavy-duty fighters can deliver these blows.
But if Israel attacks Iran, it will need to deliver those blows over and over again, in location after location, as well as neutralize the S-300 installations, mobile rockets, air defenses and a collection of North Korean-made Shahab 3 missiles, and rescue its downed pilot
By JPOST.COM STAFF
Greece assisted the Israeli Air Force last month in more than just allowing the use of its airspace, The Cutting Edge news Website reported Monday.
Russian S-300 missiles.
Photo: AP
Slideshow: Pictures of the week The Mediterranean country owns the same Russian radar, S-300, that Iran is soon to receive - or has already began receiving - from Moscow. Israel sees the S-300, which can simultaneously track hundreds of semi-stealth cruise missiles, long range missiles and aircraft, including airborne monitoring jets, as a significant threat to its entire airforce in the event of an attack on the Islamic Republic.
A massive air drill reportedly carried out by Israel in the first days of June over Greek airspace was publicized by The New York Times and generated powerful ripples, including warnings from Iran. But veteran investigative reporter Edwin Black writes in the Edge that a crucial aspect of the drill went unreported - Israel's trial run at defeating, jamming and circumventing the Russian system.
The Jerusalem Post could not confirm the report.
After Iran complained to Greece about the Israeli air maneuvers, officials in Athens said their Russian-made radar-missile batteries were "turned off" during the exercise. The Iranians, according to Black, were not convinced that Greece would really compromise its air defenses during such a crucial exercise.
The S-300 batteries Iran is expected to receive from Russia are from a newer generation than the Greek version, and are also matched with the S-300PMU-2 "Favorit," mobile missile batteries, codenamed by NATO "the Gargoyle." According to the Website, however, the missile batteries in Iran are not yet operational.
The Lockheed Martin F-35 Joint Strike Fighter.
Photo: Courtesy
Meanwhile, Black writes, Israel is courting the US Pentagon for permission to buy the F-35B "Lightning II" fighter, which was just recently unveiled. Apart from having stealth capabilities, the jet can also take off and land vertically, wihtout the use of a runway. Israel is trying to quickly purchase an entire squadron of the plane, valued at US $80 million apiece.
Any strike by Israel against Iran's nuclear facilities would involve hundreds of sorties, lasting many hours and requiring ad hoc bomb damage assessment (BDA) as airplanes went back again and again to attack targets until successful, Black analyzes. Because Natanz and other facilities are buried many feet below-ground, multiple synchronized attacks with bunker busters would have to be mounted as delayed munitions burrow deeper and deeper into the crater left by the previous bomb impact. It might take up to 20 or 40 pairs of BLU-113 penetrating bombs, each carrying more than 300 kg of high-explosive Tritonal warheads, to destroy the Natanz underground halls housing centrifuges. Israel's long-range, heavy-duty fighters can deliver these blows.
But if Israel attacks Iran, it will need to deliver those blows over and over again, in location after location, as well as neutralize the S-300 installations, mobile rockets, air defenses and a collection of North Korean-made Shahab 3 missiles, and rescue its downed pilot