Free Republic

Israel is increasing the production of its Arrow anti-missile missiles. Costing over three million dollars each, and partly constructed in the United States (by Boeing), the Arrow missiles are Israel's principal defense against Syrian and Iranian ballistic missiles. Since Arrow entered service nine years ago, Only about 120 missiles have been built. Currently, Israel has about a hundred Arrows available, and would like to increase that to 150 or 200 in the next few years. More than half the nearly three billion dollar cost of developing and building Arrow has come from the United States. In addition, American firms have...

The system Bush may offer is known as a forward-based X-band radar. Transportable by air, it uses high-powered pulsed beams for extremely high-resolution tracking of objects in space such as a missile that could be tipped with a chemical, germ or nuclear warhead. Built by Raytheon Co, the system has been described by U.S. officials as capable of tracking an object the size of a baseball from about 2,900 miles (4,700 km) away. It would let Israel's Arrow missile defences engage a Shahab-3 ballistic missile about halfway through what would be its 11-minute flight to Israel from Iran, or six...

INGLESIDE, Texas (AP) -- Military officials offered a peek at a new missile-detecting radar that is part of a system some critics have labeled "Son of Star Wars." Army officers and contractors showed off the Sea-based X-band Radar (SBX) Tuesday. The radar, which is mounted on a semi-submersible oil-drilling rig, is part of Ground-Based Midcourse Defense (GMD), a missile defense system designed to protect the country against incoming warheads. It looks almost space age with its giant white sphere, which protects an advanced radar that can track a missile across the horizon. The radar provides the information needed to remotely...

Missile detection system unveiled Associated Press INGLESIDE, Texas — Military officials offered a peak at a new missile-detecting radar system some have labeled “Son of Star Wars.” Army officers and contractors unveiled the Sea-based X-band Radar Tuesday amid doubts of its launch capabilities. The system, which is mounted on a semi-submersible oil-drilling rig, is designed to protect the country against incoming warheads. It looks almost space age with its giant white sphere, which protects an advanced radar that can track a missile across the horizon. The radar provides the information needed to remotely launch U.S. missiles at incoming warheads. At...