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One factor Israel may have considered in agreeing to the recent cease fire with Hamas was a possible shortage of Tamir missiles (used by the Iron Dome system to shoot down rockets). The problem was that Israel was not sure how many long (over 20 kilometers) range rockets (that could reach larger urban areas) Hamas had left. Hamas had managed to fire about a thousand rockets in a week, with most of them hitting unoccupied areas, or being intercepted by Tamir missiles. Israeli aircraft had made over a thousand bombing raids on Gaza, hitting hundreds of rocket storage sites. But...

Northrop Grumman stalks Israeli missile defense market Israeli source: They smell blood. Ran Dagoni, Washington 3 Oct 06 15:16 The battle in Israel for financial sources to develop defense systems against short and medium-range missile is heating up. The marketing potential for these systems is expected to easily expand beyond Israel’s borders. US aerospace giant Northrop Grumman Corp. (NYSE:NOC) is entering this arena. As a result of mergers and acquisitions, the company now owns the Skyguard tactical high energy laser (THEL) program, a follow-on program of the Nautilus anti short-range missile system. Rafael Armament Development Authority Ltd. was a partner...

Reprinted from NewsMax.com Missile Defense Is CrucialCharles R. SmithThursday, Aug. 17, 2006 The summer of 2006 has been quite a show. The wave of missiles and missile threats has left us with a major turning point in modern military history. First, the global concern over Iran and its fledgling nuclear weapons program reached the United Nations. The diplomats seem to have few options to control the wild-eyed leadership in Tehran. The Iranians, meanwhile, are using the time to continue their nuclear option along with a robust missile development. A reaction to this was easily visible inside Israel, the number one...

August 10, 2006, 3:16 a.m. Why Do Katyushas Have Free Rides?The stifling of a promising defense. By Angelo M. Codevilla As thousands of artillery rockets fall on Israel, all too few people know that an excellent device for intercepting them has been available for about seven years, but that Israeli and American officials, who should have known better, decided not to deploy it. Katyusha rockets from Lebanon have been falling on Kyriat Shemona and in the neighboring vicinity for more than two decades. They are Soviet-army surplus from World War II, when they were known as the “Stalin Organ”...

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| Lasers: Israel's Rocket Defense? It was, perhaps, the most successful laser gun in the history of energy weapons. Now, it could just prove to be the key to Israel's defense. Maybe. In the early part of this decade, the Israeli and American militaries worked with Northrop Grumman to build the Tactical High Energy Laser, or THEL. During tests at the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico, the chemical-powered energy weapon blasted out of the sky 28 Katyusha rockets -- just like the ones now assaulting Israel. Another 18 artillery shells and mortars were successfully zapped, as well....

Glick: U.S. Could Suspend Arrow and THEL Collaboration with Israel May 18, 2005 :: News Caroline Glick writes in The Jerusalem Post that the U.S. has reportedly suspended its cooperation with Israel on the Arrow and Tactical High Energy Laser (THEL) missile defense projects. Ms. Glick references an official source quoted by Middle East Newsline as saying of the pullback from military cooperation, “It’s all about China.” Israel is the largest exporter of high-tech weapons to China. The Pentagon fears that China could, among other things, use its Israeli weapons against U.S. forces in a future Taiwan conflict. Glick notes...

The U.S. Army and the Israeli Ministry of Defense (IMoD) have selected a Northrop Grumman Corporation design concept for the Mobile Tactical High-Energy Laser (MTHEL) prototype, a laser weapon capable of shooting down short-range rockets and artillery projectiles in flight. ``MTHEL represents a transformational weapon system -- the first mobile directed energy weapon that will be able to destroy tactical airborne threats in midair,'' said Pat Caruana, Northrop Grumman Space Technology vice president for missile defense. ``The system meets critical air and missile defense needs for both the U.S. Army and IMoD and represents the culmination of over 30 years...

The missile was approaching fast and gathering speed on a column of flame. Inside a trailer, miles away, it appeared on the radar screen of a soldier on-watch. From its radar signature, he realized it was a Katyusha, a ten-foot long missile launched from a truck and capable of delivering a powerful explosive charge or chemical weapon. Acting quickly, he commanded a device resembling a large spotlight mounted on the roof of the trailer to whir into motion. After panning for a few moments, the device locked onto the distant rocket arching overhead. It shot an invisible high-energy laser beam...