U.S. radar soon to be operational in Israel

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U.S. radar soon to be operational in Israel
By John Vandiver, Stars and Stripes
European edition, Saturday, November 22, 2008

STUTTGART, Germany — The U.S. radar recently deployed to Israel to help it defend against a potential missile attack from Iran is in the midst of final tests and will soon be operational, according to a spokesman for the U.S. European Command mission.

The radar was delivered to Israel in September and is reported to be capable of tracking a baseball-size object from a distance of 2,900 miles. It is intended to help Israel by enabling it to more rapidly activate its missile defense system in the event of an attack.

Army Maj. Bryan Woods, a spokesman for the U.S. military team in Israel, said the radar should be operational by mid-December.

"There has been a lot of work involved," Woods said. "It’s been a joint effort in making it come together. They (the Israelis) are very confident in the system and are happy to have it in their country."

The anticipated activation of the radar comes at a time when concerns continue to mount about Iran’s nuclear ambitions. Earlier this week, the New York Times reported that Iran has produced enough nuclear material to produce, after additional purification, a single atom bomb.


Rest of article at: http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=58986