Posted on 01/29/2004 6:42:13 PM PST by Happy2BMe
LA VOZ DE AZTLAN NEWS BULLETIN
Los Angeles, Alta California
January 27, 2004
Mexico buys missile launchers from Israel
The Mexican Navy announced yesterday that it has bought from Israel two fully operational Aliya class speed boats capable of launching 5 Gabriel missile each. Naval Captain Arturo Flores Gil told the Mexico City "La Jornada" newspaper that Mexico had paid Israel 60 million dollars for the two naval missile launchers and 10 missiles. Each missile is capable of being outfitted with nuclear warheads.
Why would Mexico spend such large sums of money for weapons at a time when countless of Mexicans have no tortillas nor frijoles to eat and are being force to migrate to the USA? Captain Arturo Flores Gil said that the highly sophisticated weapons are needed to protect the 360 PEMEX oil rigs in the waters off Campeche. The Campeche oil fields are the richest in Mexico that produces 83% of the nation's oil.
When La Jornada asked Captain Arturo Flores Gil whether the weapons purchase meant that Mexico is collaborating with the Israeli Defense Forces, he answered, "It was a purchase based strictly on commercial considerations." President Vicente Fox Quesada of the Partido Accion Nacional (PAN) has been increasingly criticized for the disproportionate number of Jews in his administration and for taking large sums of money from Jewish groups in the USA during his campaign.
Jimmy Carter to the rescue?
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In the early 1970s Gabriel anti-ship missiles were installed on Saar 2'' and Saar 3 Jaguar'' type missile boats, as well as two Israeli built missile boats of the Reshef' class (Saar 4) which were based on a completely new design and construction by Israeli Shipyards. These missiles proved their effectiveness in the Yom Kippur War (1973), as Israeli missile boats sank several Osa'' and loomar'' missile boats with zero losses.
A decade later, the long-range Harpoon missiles were introduced, as well as extended range Gabriel II missiles anymore advanced systems, implementing lessons learned during the Yom Kippur War (1973). Three Saar 3 ships were also modified for anti-submarine warfare, equipped with sonar systems, ASW torpedoes and depth charge launchers. Saar 2 and Saar 3 missile boats remained in service with the Israel Navy until the mid 1990s. In the 1970s. Israel became self sufficient in ship construction, as Israel Shipyards assumed all construction work for missile boats and landing craft. New constructions included the stretched Saar 4 class boats, which grew larger by 4 meters, to accommodate a hangar and landing deck for Aerospatiale Panther helicopters. Two ships of the Chochit'' class were built, the first one bing Aliya'' launched in 1980, followed by INS Geula''. Two additional stretched Noshav'' class boats were built without these social facilities, providing additional space for a capon systems and stores. Some Saar 4'' class boats also assumed the ASW role, equipped with various sonar systems, including an EDO towed array system, ASW torpedoes and torpedo decoys systems. The Saar 4 (Saar) missile boats were built at the Israel shipyards and based on Israel Navy designs grounded in accumulated experience derived in the operation of "cherburg" (Saar 3). |
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Saar 4 Missile Boat
Length 58.1 meters
Length 58.1 meters |
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General Characteristics:
Developed and built by the Israel Shipyards based on the extensive experience of the Israel Navy. Proven operational use by the Israel Navy. ILS support, maintenance and training. Long endurance at sea. Gabriel Mk II missiles Guns- 40mm, 20mm ASW Dimensions: Displacement: Speed: Operational Ranges: Detection and Navigation: Weapon Systems: Communication: Machinery: Electronic Warfare Systems: Anti-Submarine Warfare: Safety and Damage Control: Accommodation: |
We should have taken all of Mexico after the Mexican-American War.
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The Gabriel has been successively updated to the current "Gabriel III" missile, with twice the range and a substantially different external appearance from the Gabriel I. It is available in both ship-launched and air-launched versions, with the air-launched version known as the Gabriel III "A/S" (Air to Surface).
The Gabriel III A/S is powered by a stubby cruciform wings fitted to the midsection and cruciform tailfins for guidance. It has boost-sustain solid rocket motor and is fitted with a SAP warhead. While the Gabriel I used a semiactive radar homing seeker that required the launch platform to keep the target illuminated by radar, the Gabriel III has a dual-mode seeker that can be operated in "fire and forget" or "fire and update" modes. In the "fire and forget" mode, the Gabriel III is guided by an INS into the target area, with altitude maintained by a radar altimeter. It then turns on its active radar seeker to lock onto and attack the target after a search. In the "fire and update" mode, the missile can receive course corrections from the launch aircraft while it is cruising towards the target, allowing it to keep its radar seeker off until the last moment. The Israeli Gabriel III A/S is an advanced offshoot of the original Gabriel ship-to-ship missile system. The original Gabriel was a small, canister fired sea skimmer, designed to attack enemy vessels at wavetop level, making its approach extremely hard to detect. This newer, air-launched version is larger, with a range of 60+ km, and carries a high-explosive warhead weighing 150 kg. The guidance system of the Gabriel III/AS enables it to fly so low that it must be pre-set according to the current size of the waves. |
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There is apparently a new long-range turbojet-powered version of the Gabriel, the "Gabriel IVLR", and some sources state that Denel of South Africa has also built a 150 kilogram submunition warhead for the Gabriel. This unusual warhead has a main charge and 35 fragmenting submunitions that detonate in sequence at 5 millisecond intervals, with the fragments heavy enough to penetrate bulkheads.
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"SAAR 4.5" - Missile / Gun Boat Helicopter Carrier
The smallest Helicopter Carrier of its kind in the world. Outstanding features of this class of missile boats include very high survivability, extensive power and weapon systems designed for the naval arena. The boat has the ability to detect and strike beyond the horizon.
Advanced weapon systems include improved Gabriel missiles, Harpoon missiles, anti-aircraft guns, a radar system and a command & control system.
ALIYA CLASS - "SAAR 4.5"
MISSILE/GUN BOAT HELICOPTER CARRIER
General Characteristics:
Helicopter Carrier
Various missiles (Harpoon & Gabriel)
Long endurance at sea.
Maintenance and logistic support by the Israel Navy are available.
Dimensions:
Overall length 61.7m
Maximum beam 7.62m
Full load mean draft 2.80m
Displacement:
Total displacement 488 ton
Light displacement 430 ton
Speed:
Max. speed 33 knots
Cruising speed 19 knots
Operational Ranges:
Range at 19 knots 4800 NM
Range at 30 knots 2200 NM
Seakeeping Up to state 5
Detection:
Radars: Neptune
Weapon Systems:
Missiles - Harpoon and Gabriel MK2.
Guns - 1X40mm and 2X20mm
Machine guns - 4X0.5"
AA missiles - Portable.
Navigation:
Gyro, Laz-17, Magnavox, Receiver, sal-Log, G.P.S
Communication:
HF, VHF, HVHF, UHF Transceivers.
Machinery:
4x538 MTU Engines driving 4 propellers
Engine max. output 3380 HP. each.
Safety & Damage Control:
Fire extinguishing system and Hand -held extiguishers.
Fire Alarm system
Foam generator & gun.
Accommodations:
Captain, officers, crew and air-crew have separate quarters.
Helicopter Facilities:
Hangar
Landing platform
Fuel tanks (jet fuel)
Safety systems
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