By Kris Osborn, President, Center for Military Modernization
The Pentagon is immediately “surging” weapons, air-defenses and munitions to Israel in support of the country’s rapid military response to Hamas’ sudden terrorist attack against Israeli civilians, women and children, a coordinated massacre killing at least 900 and injuring thousands more.
“We are surging support to Israel. That includes air defense and munitions. We remain in constant, ongoing contact with our counterparts in Israel to determine and then support their most urgent requirements,” a Senior Pentagon official told reporters, according to a DoD published transcript.
Details regarding which weapons and munitions are being immediately fast-tracked are not available for security reasons, yet the Pentagon is clear that “planes have already taken off” bringing urgently needed military support to Israel.
“We back Israel and its right to respond, to ensure that its own citizens and its territory are safe from Hamas terror and recognize that there’s going to need to be a response for Israel to restore deterrence,” the senior official said.
Israel is of course known to have a capable military to include its Merkava main battle tank, unique F-35A dir variant, Iron Dome air defense system and a full arsenal of drones, yet the scale of Hamas’ rocket attacks do seem to underscore the importance of getting Israel more air defenses.
Part of the effort includes accelerating delivery of weapons and supplies which may have otherwise been seen as routine to address the pressing and urgent nature of Israel’s current military needs. The surge support to Israel, senior Pentagon officials explain, also includes an extensive examination of US weapons and assets which may already be in the Central Command area of responsibility or available across other parts of the DoD enterprise.
Israel and the United States are of course familiar with Hamas and its history of terrorist tactics, yet Pentagon leaders are calling this recent Hamas attack, which targeted children and Israeli citizens at a dance party … unprecedented.
“This is different. It’s unprecedented. Hamas militants going across Israel, murdering children in front of their parents, massacring with indiscriminate violence music festivals, burning down entire houses while families sheltered in their bunkers,” the official said.
Not surprisingly, deliberations as to additional possibilities are ongoing, as the Pentagon official made reference to growing, longstanding collaborative efforts between the Israeli Defense Forces and the US military.
“We have a U.S. military security cooperation team in Israel that’s part of the U.S. Embassy. And of course, we have been working to deepen military cooperation with Israel for years now, and that has been a specific area of prioritization and focus by this national security team.
While Hamas may not present much of an air threat, air defenses prove crucial when it comes to intercepting, stopping or destroying incoming Hamas rocket salvos. Certainly Israeli air assets and long-range ground missiles such as GMLRS and HIMARS can target Hamas rocket launchers, ground-based radar and interceptor missiles can potentially track and “destroy” Hamas rockets in flight.
Hamas’ military tactics and weaponry are reasonably well known by Isreali forces, in large measure due to the IDF’s incursion into Gaza in 2006. While a terrorist group known for hit-and-run types of attacks on civilians and indiscriminate bombings on Israeli targets, Hamas also showed a kind of “hybrid-combat” capability in 2006 as they were armed with anti-armor weapons such as anti-tank-guided missiles. Hamas fighters, armed with a surprising amount of conventional weaponry, exacted a much greater toll upon incoming Israeli mechanized forces than may have been anticipated.
Air-Defenses to Israel – Patriot & Iron Dome
Citing ongoing military operations and security reasons, the Pentagon was of course reluctant to specify what kinds of air defenses or munitions will be accelerated to Israel, it is certainly possible that systems such as the Patriot or Iron Dome could be sent in greater numbers. Iron Dome, for instance, is an Israeli weapons system already operational in Israel, and in recent years the Pentagon has partnered with Raytheon and Rafael to produce Iron Dome systems for the US. Specifically, the US Army has deployed Iron Dome to Guam, so it is conceivable that the US could draw upon its existing production capacity to generate or send Iron Dome related systems or technologies. The much-discussed Rafael-Raytheon Iron Dome System fires a Tamir missile to knock out attacking threats from the sky from as far away thirty miles or more, using radar and electro-optical sensors.
Iron Dome brings mobile, ground-fired drone, mortar and artillery defenses. The system could defend armored convoys on the move from incoming enemy fire by finding and “knocking out” approaching artillery or drone weapons. The Iron Dome’s Raytheon and Rafael-built Tamir uses steering fins and a proximity fuze, according to Raytheon’s information.
“Iron Dome detects, assesses and intercepts a variety of shorter-range targets such as rockets, artillery and mortars. It is effective day or night and in all weather conditions including low clouds, rain, dust storms and fog. It features a first-of-its-kind multi-mission launcher designed to fire a variety of interceptor missiles,” a Raytheon statement says.
This is significant as it enables the Tamir missile to explode near a series of approaching enemy munitions or drones to ensure a “kill” of otherwise somewhat elusive or maneuvering targets.
Kris Osborn is the President of Warrior Maven – Center for Military Modernization and the Osborn previously served at the Pentagon as a Highly Qualified Expert with the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army—Acquisition, Logistics & Technology. Osborn has also worked as an anchor and on-air military specialist at national TV networks. He has appeared as a guest military expert on Fox News, MSNBC, The Military Channel, and The History Channel. He also has a Masters Degree in Comparative Literature from Columbia University.
