IAF Conducts First Missile-Defense System Test

The Israeli Air Force has begun laboratory tests on its anti-missile defense systems. The first test tested how well several new systems would handle varying missiles.  Israel is due to have three anti-missile systems in the coming years.

The Israel Air Force has for the past few years been developing a variety of high-tech systems to counter every sort of rocket – from jerrybuilt Qassams to Iranian ballistic missiles. But until now no one knew how they would work together.

In order to find out, the air force this week began laboratory tests on all of its anti-missile defense systems, the military said in a statement Saturday.

Russia Does Not Rule Out Sanctions Against Iran

Russian President Medvedev

President Dmitry Medvedev said on Saturday sanctions against Iran should not be ruled out.  This statement comes after Russia had been reluctant to endorse broader sanctions against Tehran over its nuclear program in recent months.

President Dmitry Medvedev said on Saturday he still supported diplomacy to resolve the dispute over Iran’s nuclear program but sanctions should not be ruled out.

“We are convinced that the path of sanctions is not optimal,” Medvedev said in a message to the Arab League conference in Sirte, Libya.

“At the same time, such a scenario cannot be excluded,” he added, according to a transcript provided by the president’s press service.

NATO: Europe Must Upgrade Defenses

NATO Secretary General Rasmussen emphasized that the European allies are pulling their weight in the war in Afghanistan, but shrinking defense budgets during the economic downturn are causing a growing discrepancy in military capabilities between the United States and Europe’s NATO members, he said. Most European nations are not even meeting the minimal requirement of devoting 2 percent of their GDP to defense.  Rasmussen said another way the Europeans could demonstrate their commitment to defense was to develop and deploy an anti-missile system for the continent.

Europe will be a “paper tiger” in military terms unless it reverses the decline in its defensive capabilities, NATO’s chief warned Saturday.

The alliance’s secretary-general, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, emphasized that the European allies are pulling their weight in the war in Afghanistan, where they account for 40 percent of NATO’s 120,000-strong expeditionary force.

Israel to Focus on Key Iran Nuclear Targets in Any Strike

Israel’s focus is to be able to defend and strike against any Iranian threat in the future.  According to the Brookings Institute, Israel is intent on halting what the West suspects is Tehran’s quest for nuclear arms.  Specifically, Israel would launch a sneak attack against half a dozen nuclear facilities in Iran.

Past Israeli operations, such as the 1981 bombing of Iraq’s Osirak atomic reactor and a similar sortie against Syria in 2007, suggest a strategy of one-off pinpoint raids, due both to military limitations and a desire to avoid wider war.

A simulation at the Brookings Institution in Washington last December theorized that Israel, intent on halting what the West suspects is Tehran’s covert quest for atomic arms, would launch a sneak attack against half a dozen nuclear facilities in Iran.

Missile Defense Controversy Remains After START Accord

Deputy Secretary of State, William Lynn, made this statement to several hundred government workers and industry executives regarding missile defense in the United States.  “The high-pitched partisan debate over whether to invest in missile defense is no longer with us,” he said. “Ballistic missile defense is without question an important part of our current and future strategy.  We are committed to developing new missile technologies to their fullest.”  This statement helps to ease the worries that with this new agreement with Russia, the current missile defense program will weaken.

Friday’s announcement of a new U.S.-Russia strategic arms reduction treaty was achieved partly because the negotiators agreed to separate the issue from the controversy over the U.S. missile defense program.  Russia has strongly opposed the program, but U.S. officials say missile defense has become an integral part of security for the United States and its allies, and they predict significant advances during the next two years.

After President Barack Obama announced the agreement at the White House Friday morning, U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates made this simple declaration. “Missile defense is not constrained by this treaty,” he said.

New Pact Places No Limits on Missile Defenses

The White House announced that the new nuclear arms treaty between the United States and Russia will not impact the current missile defense strategy in the United States.  The White House also said that the treaty does not effect the plans for U.S. long-range non-nuclear missiles.

The White House says the new nuclear arms reduction treaty between the U.S. and Russia imposes no limits on current or planned U.S. missile defenses.

Russia, which is highly critical of U.S. missile defense plans, had sought to include such limits in the treaty.

India Successfully Tests Three Missiles

Indian Agni-1 Missile

India has successfully tested three separate missiles, including the 435-mile range, nuclear-capable Agni-I, defense officials said.

A medium range surface-to-surface Agni-I ballistic missile tested Sunday from a mobile launcher at an island in the Bay of Bengal followed the firings of ship-based Dhanush and Prithvi-II the previous day, The Hindu reported.

Iran Sanctions Top Concern at G-8 Meeting

During the G-8 meeting in Canada this week, the topic of Iran’s nuclear program and sanctions will be at the forefront.  Currently, the United States and its Western allies have been pushing for a fourth round of U.N. sanctions against Iran over its nuclear program. Iran insists its nuclear program is for peaceful means only, but Western powers believe the country is working to produce an atomic weapon.

Iran’s nuclear program is of “critical concern” and will top the agenda when foreign ministers from the Group of Eight nations meet Monday to discuss global security, Canada’s foreign minister said.

Foreign Minister Lawrence Cannon said he’ll press for stiffer sanctions against Iran when G-8 ministers assemble in Gatineau, Quebec for the meeting which begins Monday evening and continues through Tuesday.