[Al Arabiya Latest] Israel wants to buy a rocket intercept system from the United States to protect against militant fire from the Gaza Strip, Defense Minister Ehud Barak said in an interview published in Israeli media on Tuesday.
"The Vulcan-Phalanx canons and radar will be part of a multi-layer defense to intercept rockets," Barak told the Haaretz newspaper. "Such defense, as far as I am concerned, is a strategic goal," he said.
The system consists of the Raytheon Phalanx radar for targeting rockets and the 20-millimetre Vulcan Gatling gun to shoot them down, with each component costing $25 million (€19 million), Haaretz said.
The Phalanx system, designed to shred incoming shells after spotting their launch, could complement the Israeli Iron Dome system that fires small interceptor missiles and is due to be deployed on Gaza's border by 2010.
Phalanxes currently in production are earmarked for U.S. forces in Iraq and Afghanistan but Barak would ask the Pentagon to free up one unit -- costing $25 million -- for Israel, Haaretz said. |