BICOM

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) is developing a new missile system capable of hitting targets anywhere in the Middle East, Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman announced yesterday.

Lieberman said a new contract with Israel Military Industries (IMI) would deliver “within a few years” an advanced integrated system “allowing precise hits by remote launching.”

The IDF has been reluctant to deploy large numbers of missiles due to issues with accuracy, limited range and safety issues when fired at close proximity to friendly forces. In 2017, however, the IDF approved the acquisition of the first batch of IMI ‘Spear’ (Romach) 122mm GPS guided missiles for its MLRS battalions, enabling the units to deploy much more accurate missiles at ranges of up to 40 km.

Under the new deal, the Defence Ministry will acquire precision missiles of several different types with a range of 30-150 km. The deal includes upgrading the ACCULAR artillery missile system, which is already used by the Artillery Corps. The system can launch 18 precision missiles into enemy territory in one minute, which can target individuals, structures and infrastructure, and can hit several targets at the same time.

IMI chairman Yitzhak Aharonovitch said that the new missile system would “reflect the company’s technological capabilities, which specialise in the ability to fire accurately, to strike at a variety of ground targets”.

In Maariv Tal Lev Ram writes that the threat of thousands of rockets launched at Israel from land and sea has meant “additional alternatives for precise strikes from a range of hundreds of kilometres became an essential need in recent years in order to defend Israel’s ability to carry out operations continuously”.

Yediot Ahronot military affairs commentator Ron Ben-Yishai says the Defence Ministry is arming the IDF with additional rockets and missiles to serve as backup for the Israel Air Force’s (IAF) accurate offensive capabilities in case Israel comes under attack on many fronts at the same time – spreading the IAF too thin or if its enemies succeed in paralyzing IAF air bases.