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11:54 PM Stay tuned here tomorrow for up to date reports on Israel's elections.
Good Night all - enjoy the rain, and make sure you get out and vote tomorrow!
11:15 PM Tomorrow's weather report is calling for extremely stormy weather, from snow in the Golan Heights, to flooding in the Northern Negev.
IDF, Police and MDA are on high alert (I just picked up an ambulance for MDA as backup). Security officials worried about rocket strikes tomorrow from Gaza.
5:47 PM Channel 2 TV, Amit Segal wants to stay out of the morgue.
"I dont want to publicize the [internal] Likud polls, that show Kadima neck and neck with Likud, and even surpassing the Likud..." (source)
10:46 AM Defense sources: IAF can't repeat Gaza successes in bigger war
As I have been vaguely reporting over the past few days, due to certain limitations beyond my control, Haaretz does the same thing in a longer article today.
IAF officials said various factors, such as the limited number of aircraft and the enemy's increased capabilities, meant the force would likely not be able to repeat the largely successful model of cooperation with ground forces during Operation Cast Lead, on a broader scale, should the need arise.A commenter left a link with the following information from the Lebanon Now source, which I suspect is information not allowed to be published in Israel.
"Hezbollah and the Syrian army are not Hamas," a senior IAF officer said. "We cannot assume that things will be the same in a bigger war."
During Operation Cast Lead the IAF implemented a number of changes that it learned from the Second Lebanon War in 2006. For instance, an air force liaison officer was assigned to every battalion and brigade. Liaisons coordinated evacuation of soldiers and strikes on targets on the ground. Also, every brigade was given an attack helicopter squadron capable of striking targets identified by troops on the ground.
Commenter Lemzia also said:Over the following two years, according to Israeli sources, Syria purchased 50 Pantsir SE-1 and Tor-M1 air-defense systems from Moscow. Sophisticated anti-tank guided weapons systems were also acquired. There are conflicting reports as to whether the Pantsir air defense systems had been fully deployed at the time of the successful IAF raid on a suspected Syrian plutonium reactor in September, 2007. The raid, in any case, undoubtedly represented a significant failure for the Syrians.
The Syrian response has been to accelerate the pace of arms purchases from willing Russia. In May, a senior Syrian delegation headed by air force commander General Akhmad al-Ratyb visited the Russian capital. The delegation secured the purchase of Mig-29 SMT fighter aircraft.
This time around, the leading item on Assad's shopping list is thought to be the sophisticated S-300 long range anti-aircraft missile system. This state-of-the-art system has already been purchased from Russia by Iran. Iran is expected to deploy it by March, 2009. The Iranian intention, clearly, is for this system to be used in defense of Teheran's nuclear program.
If this is the same system that iran just purchased, it is the S300 - PMU1 system and unless you have a very stealthy aircraft, it is impossible to break through. The more of them they get, the better the system is. not just because they have more missles, its because the radar system of each missle site communictes together forming a very broad shield.
at the moment, the USA is the only country i know of that has an air force capable to defeat this system. and in 2010 Israel will get the f35 wich may be able to defeat the system too.
Wherever I am, my blog turns towards Eretz Yisrael טובה הארץ מאד מאד
What JO said. Amen.
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