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Monday, July 17, 2006

Israeli Patriots and Arrows

This news is about twelve hours old—stale—but a little fun nonetheless. Vital Perspective, written by a couple of seers somewhere in the twisted corridors of Washington, reports:

Israel has moved batteries of Patriot anti-missile missiles into the Haifa area. The defensive weapons have been significantly upgraded since they were first used in a battle situation in the 1991 Gulf War. When they were initially fired, many failed to hit incoming missiles. The Patriot system operates alongside the Arrow, a defensive missile aimed at stopping longer-range missiles. For some time the Arrows have been focused on Iran, with the Patriots acting as back-up in the event the Arrow system were to fail. In the current situation, the Patriot is a far more appropriate answer to Hezbollah missiles, given its shorter range.

The Patriot system protected CENTCOM several times in the opening sallies of the Iraq War. One hopes it proves just as reliable for Israel.

Posted on July 17, 2006 11:42 AM. Permalink