*Perilous Times
Israeli military says new weapon shot down Gaza anti-tank rocket in first combat test* By Mark Lavie, The Associated Press | The Canadian Press -- Tue, 1 Mar, 2011 4:10 PM EST JERUSALEM - A new Israeli weapons system knocked down a Palestinian anti-tank rocket in its first combat test Tuesday, the military said, showing off technology that could protect the heavy vehicles that have been the mainstay of the world's ground forces for decades. Palestinian militants said they fired a rocket-propelled grenade at an Israeli tank as it patrolled near the Gaza-Israel border, a frequent occurrence. This time, the "Trophy" system sensed the incoming rocket and fired its own projectile, blowing it up away from the tank, the military said. Trophy is thought to be the only active defence system of its kind in the world. Up till now, tanks have relied on heavier and thicker armour plating to protect against more powerful anti-tank weapons. Experts say the active defence concept, if it works consistently, could allow the construction of smaller, lighter and more efficient tanks. The Israeli military did not make pictures or video of the Tuesday encounter available to the media, instead issuing a short statement. It said a tank came under fire while on routine patrol, and "for the first time during operational activity, the Trophy system, ... designed to actively protect against anti-tank missiles, identified, alerted and intercepted the (anti-tank rocket)." Israel began developing the Trophy after its 34-day war against Hezbollah in Lebanon in 2006, when guerrillas with simple rocket-propelled grenades hid in alleys and buildings and took potshots at Israeli tanks, hitting dozens and killing at least 19 Israeli tank crewmen. The military did not say how many tanks are equipped with the systems, estimated to cost about $200,000 apiece. Last year, displaying the system to The Associated Press, developers said it was installed on some Israeli tanks in a pilot project. Violence in and around Gaza has escalated in recent weeks after a two-year slowdown that followed Israel's bruising invasion of Gaza in early 2009, aimed at stopping daily rocket salvos from Palestinian militants there. Earlier Tuesday, in the West Bank, vandals smashed windows of seven Palestinian cars and threw a firebomb at a house. Police blamed extremist Jewish settlers, retaliating for destruction of two structures at an unauthorized settlement a day earlier. Settlers call their retaliation for such government moves "price tag." Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak denounced their actions and pledged to enforce the law. Settlements are at the heart of the current impasse in peace efforts. Palestinians say they cannot negotiate a peace deal while Israel continues to build on the lands they want for a future state. Israel responds that there has never before been such a precondition for peace talks. With peace talks on hold for five months, the Quartet of Mideast mediators --- the U.S., EU, U.N. and Russia --- invited Israel and the Palestinians to separate meetings in Brussels on Wednesday to discuss ways to restart peacemaking. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------ -------------------------- Want to discuss this topic? Head on over to our discussion list, [email protected]. -------------------------- Brooks Isoldi, editor [email protected] http://www.intellnet.org Post message: [email protected] Subscribe: [email protected] Unsubscribe: [email protected] *** FAIR USE NOTICE. This message contains copyrighted material whose use has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. OSINT, as a part of The Intelligence Network, is making it available without profit to OSINT YahooGroups members who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information in their efforts to advance the understanding of intelligence and law enforcement organizations, their activities, methods, techniques, human rights, civil liberties, social justice and other intelligence related issues, for non-profit research and educational purposes only. We believe that this constitutes a 'fair use' of the copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Law. If you wish to use this copyrighted material for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use,' you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtmlYahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/osint/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/osint/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: [email protected] [email protected] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [email protected] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
