MISSILE DEFENSE AGENCY, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE The Forward-Based X-band Transportable (FBX-T) radar system has been delivered by the United States to Israel to strengthen Israeli defenses against possible missile attacks from Iran. (Photo from The Washington Times)Who Is For Missile Defense? -- Washington Times
The effort to defend against Iran's missiles took a new turn in late September when Washington delivered an X-band radar manned by 120 U.S. personnel to the first permanent U.S. military base in Israel.
Iran's missiles are a real and growing threat to U.S. forces and allies in the Middle East. Add the nuclear weapons Tehran is determined to acquire and Iran's longer-range missiles will be a threat to Europe and even the United States. The choice next Tuesday is between a candidate who supports missile defense and one who does not.
The radar sent to Israel is the same as the high-powered transportable model now operating in northern Japan. It is ideal for detecting short- and medium-range missiles such as Iran's Scuds that can reach U.S. bases in Iraq and its Shahab-3 that threatens Israel. The advantage over Israel's Green Pine radar is that the X-band radar can track missiles from launch, providing extra minutes to intercept. A Shahab-3 flies about 9 minutes from Iran to Israel, so a gain of several minutes is invaluable.
This can permit an intercept soon after launch over enemy instead of friendly territory. But more important, the X-band radar integrates Israel's missile defenses with the U.S. global missile detection network, which includes satellites, Aegis ships in the Mediterranean, Persian Gulf and Red Sea, and land-based Patriot radars and interceptors.
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