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IAF Commander, Major General Amir Eshel, spoke Wednesday about the IAF's preparedness for a surprise war scenario with Syria. "A surprise war can come about through many scenarios at present," he said at a conference of the Fisher Institute for National Security in Herzliya. Isolated incidents can escalate very quickly, he explained, and added that "we are committed to being ready in a matter of hours and to operate up to the end of the spectrum."

The United Nations has called on Israel to halt military air patrols over Lebanon amid heightened tensions after air raids on targets in Syria, a UN spokesman said Tuesday. UN spokesman Martin Nesirky said that the UN Interim Force in Lebanon, UNIFIL, had protested after recording an increase in Israeli flights over Lebanon. UNIFIL "says that in the course of the past week it has observed a higher number of Israeli air violations over Lebanese airspace," Nesirky told a briefing, the AFP news agency reported. He added that the flights are a "violation of Lebanese sovereignty and of Security Council...

Pictures emerge showing destruction caused to buildings by airstrikes Syria pledges to retaliate against Israel 'in its own time and way'Threats follow two raids by Israel on Syria in the past three daysVideo footage showed dramatic explosions over Damascus skylineIsrael says it was targeting Iranian-made missiles on the way to Hezbollah Bulldozers are clearing away rubble from buildings razed to the ground by Israeli airstrikes near Damascus, as Syria pledges retaliation for the 'declaration of war'.Pictures have emerged from Syria showing the damage caused to buildings, including some forming part of a chicken farm, by an attack in Al-Hama -...

The Lebanese army said on Friday that eight Israeli warplanes had flown over Lebanon’s airspace in a span of 14 hours, the Daily Star reported. The report said that Israel sends reconnaissance jets and warplanes over Lebanon on almost a regular basis, but the air traffic in the last 24 hours has been unusually high. “At 7:10 p.m. Thursday, two Israeli warplanes violated Lebanese airspace entering above the sea west of Sidon and flying over all Lebanese areas as they conducted aerial maneuvers,” an announcement from the Lebanese army’s general directorate said, according to the Daily Star. The planes left...

An IAF aircraft on Gaza Tuesday morning assassinated a senior Salafist terror activist who was reportedly behind an April 17 rocket attack on Eilat from the Sinai. The IDF and Shin Bet security service confirmed that they had targeted Hithem Ziad Ibrahim Masshal, 24, from the Shati refugee camp. The attack marked the first “targeted strike” on a Gaza terror figure by Israel since November’s Operation Pillar of Defense, and came amid a renewal of sporadic rocket fire into Israel that seemed to show the deterrent effect of November’s operation was eroding.

DAMASCUS, Syria, April 28 (UPI) -- The Free Syrian Army says Israeli air force jets flew over President Bashar Assad's palace and bombed a chemical weapons site near Damascus, Maariv reported. The report said Israeli jets entered Syrian airspace close to 6 a.m Saturday and flew over Assad's palace in Damascus and other security facilities before striking a chemical weapons compound near the city. The Hebrew language daily said a Syrian army air defense battery positioned in the city fired at the Israeli jets, but the aircraft left Syrian airspace unscathed. FSA rebels posted a video showing smoke rising from...

A blast went off in southern Lebanon, near the city of Tyre, late on Sunday night, Al-Arabiya reported, based on local media sources. The blast reportedly occurred after an electronic device exploded in the area. The Lebanese Future TV network said that an “Israeli aircraft might have detonated an electronic transmission device” in the southern area of al-Fawwar. “Hizbullah has cordoned off the area,” Future TV added. The official Lebanese NNA news agency claimed that “Israeli aircraft did not leave the Lebanese airspace over the South all through the day.” Israel’s Channel 2 News, reporting on the explosion, cited a...

IAF warplanes carried out a number of "mock raids" over Lebanese airspace on Friday night, Lebanon's official National News Agency reported. According to the report, beginning at 9:30 p.m. on Friday, the IAF jets flew at low altitude over the towns of Nabatiyeh, Iklim al-Tuffah, Marjayoun and Bint Jbeil. ... Earlier this week, a Lebanese army statement said that four IAF warplanes entered Lebanese air space at 4.30 p.m on Tuesday. ... The statement made no mention of planes entering Syrian airspace but shortly afterward reports emerged that Israeli jets had struck an arms convoy on the Lebanon-Syria border.

2,000 years after Judah the Maccabee fought against the decrees of Greek ruler Antiochus, the descendants of the Hasmoneans and the ancient Greeks are cooperating militarily. For Hanukkah, the IAF Website featured these pictures of Greek-Israeli cooperation in joint maneuvers of the countries' air forces. Cooperation with Greece has tightened following the deterioration in relations between Israel and Turkey...

The IDF hit more than 50 targets in Gaza on Tuesday evening, bringing the total number of strikes in the region Tuesday over 100. Half of the strikes were aimed at terrorist cells that were engaged in firing rockets at Israel. Six known Hamas terrorists and one known Islamic Jihad terrorist were killed over the course of the day. Twenty terrorists were injured in airstrikes as they attempted to fire Grad rockets. Twenty-two percent of Tuesday’s strikes hit rocket launchers that were not manned at the time. Another 8 percent of strikes targeted smuggling tunnels. Four percent targeted weapons stockpiles,...

IAF aircraft struck the branch of the National Islamic Bank in Gaza on Monday night, the Al Jazeera network reported. According to the report, four people were wounded in the airstrike, part of the IDF’s Operation Pillar of Defense. Hamas reportedly uses the bank, which opened in the area in 2009, to pay its terrorists' salaries. Palestinian Authority-based sources also said that the IAF also struck the Rafiah home of Hamas terrorist Raed Al-Attar overnight Monday. Al-Attar’s name was mentioned in recent days as the successor to Hamas arch-terrorist Ahmed Jaabari, whose targeted killing began the operation last Wednesday. It...

The Israeli Air Force has issued a new video showing the pinpoint accuracy of aerial bombings and Hamas’ use of holy sites for terror. Video

In recent minutes, the IAF assassinate Ahmed Abu Jalal, a senior Hamas terrorist, in and air strike. The IAF also hit another car in the strike.

IAF aircraft struck a terror activity center in northern Gaza on Wednesday night, the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit announced. According to the statement, direct hits at the target were detected. All Israeli aircraft safely returned to their bases. The attack came in response to the ongoing rocket attacks from Gaza into Israeli territory. On Wednesday afternoon, terrorists from Hamas-controlled Gaza fired a rocket into the Ashkelon Coast Regional Council area. The rocket exploded near greenhouses in the area, causing them damage. No physical injuries were reported. On Tuesday, the IAF carried out a similar attack on a terror activity center in...

The IDF foiled a terrorist attack early Sunday in the third counterterrorist strike in 24 hours, sending a clear massage to Hamas. The Air Force successfully targeted a cell preparing to fire at Israelis, an IDF spokesmen said. The latest counterterrorist measure killed at least one terrorist. In the pre-dawn hours of Sunday, the Air Force struck a second time in a significant counterterrorist action that eliminated two senior terrorists on motorbikes. They were identified as Jordanian national Sheikh Hisham al-Saedini, 43, also known as Abu Al-Waleed Al-Maqdissi, of the Mujahedeen Shura, and fellow Salafist Islamic terrorist Fayek Abu Jazar,...

The Air Force carried out “mock raids” at medium altitude over southern Lebanon Sunday, hours after Israel said all indications are that Hizbullah launched a drone that was downed inside Israel on Saturday, according to the Arabic language Nahar newspaper. Israel previously has carried out surveillance flights over southern Lebanon, which is under control of the Hizbullah terrorist organization. Sunday’s flights, which have not been confirmed by Israel, apparently were a response to the drone. A Lebanese television station stated that Hizbullah was responsible for the drone infiltration into Israel’s air space, while Iran’s propaganda machine tried to divert attention...

Arab media outlets say armed gunmen from global jihadist movement kill 15 Egyptian soldiers in north Sinai; hijack armored vehicle and infiltrate into Israel. IAF kills terrorists; no Israeli casualties reported Yoav Zitun Latest Update: 08.06.12, 00:33 / Israel News

Israeli F-16i (Illustration Only) flash 90 A Syrian minister on Wednesday was quoted as saying his country's forces may have mistaken the Turkish plane they shot down for an Israeli one. Syrian Information Minister Omran al-Zoebi told the Turkish news channel A Haber in a telephone interview that Damascus did "not want a crisis between Turkey and Syria." Al-Zoebi said Turkish and Israeli fighter jets were mostly US-made, which may have led the Syrian forces to mistake it for an Israeli jet. However, military observers note that Israel retired its last F-4 Phantom jet – the type of jet shot...

41 Rockets Slam into South, IAF Strikes Kill Six Terrorists killed Monday were an Egyptian and a Saudi, who dedicated attack to Osama Bin Laden. By Gil Ronen First Publish: 6/19/2012, 6:36 PM (Flash 90)Forty-one terrorist rockets slammed into southern Israel between midnight and 8:30 p.m. Monday. The IAF has carried out three strikes on terror targets in Gaza in the last 24 hours, killing at least six terrorists. An IAF strike Tuesday afternoon severely injured a man who was on a motorcycle, Gaza sources said. Hamas has taken responsibility for the rocket fire at the Negev. It said it...

Outgoing IAF commander Maj. Gen. Ido Nechushtan suggested on Friday that it would be better to keep quiet on the subject of Iran and a possible Israeli strike on its nuclear facilities. In a special interview with Channel 2 News, Nechushtan, who is retiring from the IDF after 37 years of service, said, “We are not commentators of this situation, we are not closely following the events. We are on the side of the solutions. We come from the side of the tools that are at the country’s disposal.” He added, “I think that some of the public discourse being...

A major Israel TV station on Sunday night broadcast a detailed report on how Israel will go about attacking Iran’s nuclear facilities in the event that diplomacy and sanctions fail and Israel decides to carry out a military strike. The report, screened on the main evening news of Channel 10, was remarkable both in terms of the access granted to the reporter, who said he had spent weeks with the pilots and other personnel he interviewed, and in the fact that his assessments on a strike were cleared by the military censor. No order to strike is likely to be...

Israel Defense Forces officials told cabinet ministers on Monday that should Israel undergo a coordinated missile attack, there would be less than 300 Israeli casualties. The number was mentioned by IDF officials during a discussion in Israel's security-diplomatic cabinet, Channel 10 reported on Monday, and is far lower than the number mentioned previously by Defense Minister Ehud Barak, who reportedly said that a maximum of 500 Israelis would die in such an attack. During the meeting, a senior official in the Israel Air Force told the cabinet ministers that in the event of a coordinated missile attack on Israel's home...

[Madison, Wisconsin] Gearing up for increased political activism on the cusp of a campaign to recall Governor Scott Walker, the State’s teachers’ union is being guided by the philosophy of radical leftist Saul Alinsky, the MacIver News Service has learned. On Friday and Saturday WEAC is sponsoring community organizing training seminars put on by the Industrial Areas Foundation. The IAF is a leftist community organizing network established in 1940 by Saul Alinsky. Alinsky, author of the book Rules for Radicals, remains a controversial political figure many years after his death. Opposed to many of the bloody revolutionary strategies supported by...

Lockheed Martin expects to advance its F-35 deals with Japan and Israel within the next few months, leading to combined orders for more than 60 Joint Strike Fighters. Earlier this month, company officials visited Japan to discuss the nation's planned F-X purchase of 42 F-35As, following a competitive selection made last December. Tokyo is expected to approve a letter of agreement for the deal in March, with this document likely to be signed in June, says Stephen O'Bryan, Lockheed vice-president F-35 programme integration and business development. Dismissing Japanese media reports raising concerns over a possible increase in the F-35's unit...

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, speaking about the escalation in rocket attacks in the South on Friday and Shabbat, said: “We will continue to attack anyone who tries to harm Israeli citizens.” The Palestinian Ma’an news agency reports that air strikes continue to rock the Gaza Strip, killing three men on Saturday, raising to 15 the number of Palestinians killed since Israel killed a military leader 24 hours earlier. According to the AP, an Israeli air strike killed the commander of the militant group behind the abduction of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit and a second militant in Gaza on Friday in...

Israel to buy Italy's M-346 jet trainer for $1b S. Korea threatens to cancel deals because Israel did not choose its T-50 Golden Eagle. The Ministry of Defense has decided to buy the Alenia Aermacchi M-346 jet trainer for the Israel Air Force, rather than South Korea's T-50 Golden Eagle, jointly developed by Korean Aerospace Industries Ltd. (KAI) and Lockheed Martin Company (NYSE: LMT). The ministry notified the companies of its decision, after the Air Force decided that it preferred the M-346 on the grounds that its performance was better than the T-50. The deal is worth around $1 billion....

Report: Israel will ask to station IAF jets in Cyprus Israeli officials tell Xinua news agency possibility of offshore airbase will be raised during Netanyahu's upcoming visit to neighboring island Ynet Israeli and Cypriot officials are planning to discuss allowing the Israeli Air Force to station jets in the neighboring island, Chinese news agency Xinua reported Tuesday. The issue will be raised during Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's scheduled visit to Cyprus later this month, Xinua quoted Israeli officials as saying. According to the report, an Israeli embassy official told the Cyprus Mail in January that Netanyahu "will come to Cyprus...

World’s biggest French kiss - IAF picks Rafale for deal that can reshape Europe’s defence industry SUJAN DUTTA New Delhi, Jan. 31: A flying French kiss is in the air. The Indian Air Force (IAF) has decided French aircraft maker Dassault Aviation’s Rafale fighter jet is best suited for it. The Rafale bid was less than the price quoted by four-nation European consortium EADS Cassidian’s Eurofighter Typhoon. In a race that has lasted five years and tantalised not only India’s military establishment but also first-world countries and half-a-dozen of the globe’s largest companies, the sleek twin-engined Rafale with its ergonomic...

Just as famed Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio is preparing to release results of his investigation of Barack Obama’s eligibility for Arizona’s 2012 ballot, a top-gun activist who led a successful campaign to recall a key Arpaio ally is now targeting the sheriff himself.In the coming weeks, it will be decided whether transplanted radical attorney-activist and “community organizer” Randy Parraz can force Arpaio to resign before the sheriff’s Cold Case Posse has a chance to deliver a report in February.Parraz, who has made his career applying Saul Alinsky-style community organizer tactics for radical leftist movements in the U.S. and Canada,...

IAF may buy jets used by US in Iraq By YAAKOV KATZ 26/12/2011 Advantage in purchasing military equipment, senior IDF officer explains, is in the price, which would likely be dramatically lower than buying same equipment new. Due to the ongoing upheaval in the Middle East and potential delays to existing procurement plans, the IDF is looking at the possibility of purchasing fighter jets and other platforms used by the United States military in Iraq. The advantage in purchasing military equipment used by the US in Iraq, a senior IDF officer explained, was in the price, which would likely be...

Sudanese media reports that planes attacked convoy of land cruiser jeeps, number of people reportedly killed; another strike hit truck near border with Egypt, according to reports. Sudanese media reported over the weekend that IAF planes struck a number of targets in the east of the country last week. According to the reports, the planes attacked a convoy of land cruiser jeeps and a number of people were reportedly killed. Another strike took place last Sunday against a truck near the border with Egypt, according to the reports. In another incident in early December Israeli planes were reported to have...

Israeli fighter jets, helicopters and possibly a submarine were involved in multiple attacks on targets in Sudan last week, according to local news outlets. The reports say that Israeli jets hit targets in the eastern part of the African country, near its border with Egypt, last Thursday. They hit six Land Cruiser jeeps and killed four people. An earlier strike took place last Sunday and reportedly involved Israeli helicopters. A truck was targeted. Some reports say an Israeli submarine was also spotted at the same time. However, the Sudanese army spokesman, Col. Al-Sawarmi Haled Sa'ad, said that the military's air...

At least two Palestinian Authority Arab terrorists are dead in Gaza following a targeted, surgical air strike on a vehicle by fighter pilots of the Israeli Air Force. One of the two dead was a senior operative who had coordinated numerous attacks against Israeli civilians. Both were members of a terrorist cell belonging to the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades organization, according to the IDF, who added the cell had been planning to infiltrate Israel's border to carry out another attack. A Gaza Health Ministry official was quoted by the Bethlehem-based Ma'an news agency as saying that five bystanders were also...

Raytheon keen to supply missiles to IAF N. Ramakrishnan Tucson (Arizona), Nov. 11: Raytheon, the Massachusetts-headquartered Defence and security systems supplier, feels that a number of its missiles can be fitted on the aircraft that the Indian Air Force plans to buy as part of its modernisation programme. “Just last week we got an RFI (Request for Interest – the first stage of the bidding process) from the IAF for a HEAT (High Speed Expendable Aerial Target) missile,” said Mr Jeff White, Senior Programme Manager – Air Warfare Systems Business Development, Raytheon Missile Systems. Submits Request for Interest “Last night,...

IAF will add two more Israeli AWACS to its fleet NEW DELHI: India will order another two advanced Israeli Phalcon AWACS (airborne warning and control systems), or the "formidable eyes in the sky'' capable of detecting hostile aircraft, cruise missiles and other incoming aerial threat far before ground-based radars at a cost of over $800 million soon. Top defence ministry sources say the "draft contract'' for the two new AWACS "is now finally in the final stages of being examined'' before it's inked as a follow-on order to the $1.1-billion tripartite agreement among India, Israel and Russia in 2004, under...

South Korea threatens to cancel all defense deals with Israel South Korea threat comes in response to fear that Israel Air Force has decided to purchase a new training plane from rival Italy. By Amos Harel The purchase of the Israel Air Force's new training plane is causing serious diplomatic tension between Israel and South Korea: Fearing that Israel has already decided on a rival plane made in Italy, the Koreans are now threatening in return to cancel all their deals for purchasing Israeli defense systems. In recent years, the South Koreans have purchased an average of $280 million a...

10 rockets, mortal shells explode in Ehskol, Sha'ar Hanegev Regional Councils, Asheklon; no injuries; Erez border crossing damaged; 2 Islamic Jihad members killed, Palestinian report says. A ceasefire with Hamas in Gaza seemed distant Thursday evening as the violence in the south of the country continued with at least 15 rockets and mortar shells exploding in Israeli territory, and Israeli air strikes that reportedly left two Islamic Jihad members dead. The Code Red siren was heard throughout the Eshkol and Sha'ar Hanegev Regional Councils and in Ashkelon as 15 rockets and mortar shells fell throughout those areas, the IDF Spokesman's...

IDF planes attacked two terrorists in northern Gaza early Wednesday, shortly after terrorists fired two rockets at Israeli targets. The two terrorists were targeted specifically by the planes, an IDF statement said. “The IDF will not tolerate any attempt to harm Israeli civilians and IDF soldiers, and will respond with determination to any attempt to use terror against the State of Israel,” the IDF statement said.

Israel Air Force fighter jets eliminated a terrorist squad in northern Gaza late Saturday afternoon. Military sources confirmed a direct hit on the terrorist cell, which had apparently just finished launching a mortar attack on southern Israel. Israeli fighter pilots on Friday night attacked two terrorist tunnels, a weapons factory in southern Gaza and a terrorist training center as well. Direct hits were confirmed on all targets, and all IDF personnel returned safely to their bases. “The IDF will not tolerate any attempts to harm Israeli civilians and IDF soldiers and will respond with determination to any attempt to use...

Copter hunt gets hotter- Race between US & Russian choppers as army, IAF weigh options SUJAN DUTTA New Delhi, Aug. 14: The army and the air force are now totting up the scores in a competition between American and Russian helicopter gunships, one of which will replace the attack copters in the Indian armed forces. The attack helicopter fleet, currently made up of ageing Soviet-origin Mi 25s and Mi 35s, is in the custody of the IAF but is meant to support land operations of the army. The IAF will initially procure 22 attack copters — either the Boeing-made AH64...

The commanders of the IDF, especially those in the Air Force, are making "increasingly loud" demands to strike Iran's nuclear program, a German news source reported Wednesday. According to Der Spiegel, the question of how Israel will eventually deal with the threat of a nuclear Iran depends in part on a battle of prestige between the military and the Mossad – the latter being in charge of assassinations, and favoring them as a result. Mossad is behind the killings of three Iranian scientists in the last 18 months, the paper claimed. A fourth scientist was wounded and subsequently appointed to...

<p>Fighter jet purported to be one of most advanced jets in world with ability to fly undetected in enemy territory; IAF pilots to train in US.</p> <p>The Israel Air Force plans to purchase a second squadron of F-35 Joint Strike Fighters during the upcoming IDF multi-year procurement plan that is currently under review within the General Staff.</p>

India's Mirage upgrade: a prelude to a Rafale MMRCA win? It looks as if India is serious about upgrading its Dassault Mirage 2000Hs to Mirage 2000-9 standard. This is a major upgrade that will affect most systems in the aircraft. The bill, estimated at $2.2 billion, is staggering, working out to about $43 million an aircraft. One wonders if India would be better off buying new aircraft. In his MMRCA report earlier this year Ashley Tellis pegged the flyaway cost of the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet (with APG-79 AESA radar) at $60 million. Anyway, the timing of the upgrade (first mooted...

China Among Indian Air Force Concerns May 31, 2011 By Asia-Pacific Staff NEW DELHI — The Indian Air Force (IAF) has long had big ambitions, and the pending arrival of a new service chief with a broad agenda indicates there will be no easing up in efforts to improve the breadth of the service’s capabilities. The first major restructuring of the IAF’s order of battle, a revival of border air bases to counter Chinese air force deployments and quick acquisitions of weapons and systems to plug capability gaps will be the operational priorities of the IAF’s next chief, Air Marshal...

U.S. disappointed over IAF deal, but respects process PTI With its fighters losing out in the bid for India’s multi-billion dollar deal, the U.S. on Thursday said it was “deeply disappointed” over it but was “respectful” of the procurement process. In a statement in New Delhi, Ambassador Timothy Roemer said he had been assured at the highest levels in the Indian government that the procurement process for the fighters “has been and will be transparent and fair”. He said the U.S. looked forward to continuing to grow and develop defence partnership with India. “The U.S. Embassy in New Delhi was...

IAF losing edge over PAF Shiv Aroor & Durga Nandini New Delhi, April 20, 2011 The Pakistan Air Force is stronger than ever. Since the last Indo-Pak air war of 1971, the Pakistan Air Force has with steely determination built up numbers, lethal capabilities and a combat force now counted as one of the most disciplined and well-trained air forces in the world. Headlines Today has a disturbing proof that all this has made India worried. A recent presentation by the defence intelligence establishment paints a morbid picture of how the numbers and capability advantage that the Indian Air Force...

IDF spokesperson says attack aimed at terrorist group planning to kidnap Israelis over Passover; 3 bodies, critically injured man, reportedly brought to Al-Aqsa Martyrs hospital near Khan Younis. GAZA - Israeli aircraft killed three Palestinian gunmen, a critically wounded one, in the southern Gaza Strip early on Saturday, medical officials and the Israeli army said. Residents said the planes fired on a car in which the three men were traveling in the town of Khan Younis. According to Palestinian news source Maan, local residents of Khan Younis reported to both hearing and feeling the single-missile strike. An Israeli military spokesman...

They will stop at nothing… The International Association of Firefighters is using tasteless images from the Oklahoma City Bombing to fight a state bill which changes how public safety labor unions and cities handle contract disputes. Posted by Jim Hoft on Thursday, March 24, 2011, 12:02 PM They will stop at nothing… The International Association of Firefighters is using tasteless images from the Oklahoma City Bombing to fight a state bill which changes how public safety labor unions and cities handle contract disputes. NewsOK reported: A state senator today blasted a firefighter union television advertisement as “horrific and tasteless” for...

Israelis debating value of F-35s amid problems affecting delivery TEL AVIV — Israel expects additional delays in the Joint Strike Fighter program. The Institute for National Security Studies asserted that problems in the U.S. F-35 program would affect the delivery schedule for Israel. In a report, author Yiftah Shapir pointed to a U.S. decision to postpone the target date for the F-35A and F-35C to at least 2016. "This change will undoubtedly affect the date of delivery of the planes to Israel," the report, titled "The F-35 Deal: An Enlightened Purchase?" said. Authored by Yiftah Shapir, the report questioned the...

US pushes deal, secrecy hitch on IAF screen SUJAN DUTTA New Delhi, Feb. 21: The US’s strong pitch to sell its fighter aircraft to India for an estimated $12 billion has run into a hurdle with the Indian Air Force telling the government that it does not favour the signing of agreements that risk compromising its operational secrecy. Air Chief Marshal Pradeep Vasant Naik said in Yelahanka earlier this month that price negotiations for the medium multi-role combat aircraft (MMRCA) deal could start as early as next month and a contract would be signed by September. The setting of a...