Israel Says It Has Developed A 5th Generation Tank

This handout photo, released September 19, 2023, shows a new IDF Barak tank. (Defense Ministry and Israel Defense Forces)  

Breaking Defense: Israel unveils new ‘5th generation’, ‘lightning’ version of Merkava tank 

The upgrades are focused not on the tank's physical structure, but on incorporating the latest tech and systems. 

JERUSALEM — Israel this week unveiled the latest iteration of its Merkava family of tanks, what the Israeli Defense Force calls the ‘Lightning’ version of the Merkava IV. 

The advanced tank has been under development and undergoing trials over the last half decade. In a joint statement from Israel’s Ministry of Defense and the IDF, it was presented as a key to the future of the IDF, incorporating the latest sensors, artificial intelligence, networking and active protection system — technological, rather than structural advancements.  

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Israel Says It Has Developed A 5th Generation Tank  

IDF Unveils Its New “Lightning” Tank -- Israel Defense 

Israel unveils IDF's new AI-powered 'Barak' super tank -- Jerusalem Post  

Advanced sensors, high-tech helmet: Israel’s 5th generation battle tank revealed -- Times Of Israel  

Meet Barak, Israel's New AI-Powered Military Tank Ushering in a New Era of Weaponry -- Knewz  

‘Extraordinary Leap Forward’: Israel Unveils Cutting-Edge, 5th-Gen Main Battle Tank – Merkava Mark 5 -- EurAsian Times

Israeli Defense Forces Launch Massive Military Exercise to Simulate War on 'Multiple Fronts'

© Flickr / Israel Defense Forces

Sputnik: IDF Launches Massive Military Exercise to Simulate War on 'Multiple Fronts' Amid Flaring Tensions 

A number of Palestinian protesters sustained injuries during riots along the border of the Gaza Strip on Saturday as unrest flared around the Temple Mount and ahead of planned evictions in the Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood of east Jerusalem, with the IDF launching tear gas and firing rubber bullets in response, according to Palestinian reports. 

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) are launching the largest exercise in their history on Sunday, according to Kan News.  

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Update: IDF exercise to be held in Kirya, Galilee and Golan Heights on Monday (Jerusalem Post)  

WNU Editor: Another sign Israel has been successful in controlling the spread of Covid-19 .... IDF says no active COVID cases among soldiers, in first since start of outbreak (Times of Israel).

More Details Emerge On Israel's Newest Spy Plane

Photo by Amit Agronov 

Warzone/The Drive: Israel’s New Surveillance Jet Combines Two Other Aircraft’s Missions Into A Single Airframe 

The Nachshon Oron is the first of an undisclosed number of advanced multi-mission intelligence-gathering aircraft for Israel.

The Israeli Air Force has unveiled a new multi-mission intelligence-gathering aircraft, the Nachshon Oron. The new aircraft will join an existing fleet of airborne early warning and signals intelligence platforms, all based on the Gulfstream bizjet airframe, but will add important new capabilities, including those focused on the maritime domain. 

The Israeli Air Force (IAF) announced yesterday that the Oron had been formally unveiled by 122 Squadron, “Nachshon,” a specialist intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) unit at Nevatim Air Base in Israel’s Negev desert. The aircraft, based on a Gulfstream G550 airframe, arrived in Israel last month, after delivery from the United States where it was manufactured and flight-tested. It wore the temporary registration N552GD for its delivery flight, which took it via a stopover in Shannon, Ireland. 

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Previous Post: Israel Receives A New Spy Plane It Says Will Help Gather Intel In Iran, Yemen, Iraq, And Syria (April 4, 2021) 

WNU Editor: A lot of work went into planning, designing, and building this surveillance aircraft .... nine years have been spent on designing and developing the aircraft and its subsystems.

Israeli Army Accidentally Reveals Location Of Secret Bases Online

IDF OFFICERS examine a map of the Middle East. (photo credit: IDF SPOKESPERSON'S UNIT)

Jerusalem Post: IDF accidentally reveals location of secret bases online 

The map was detailed enough to include boundaries and names of the bases. 

In an apparent blunder of operational security, the IDF Home Front Command published the location of secret IDF bases, Haaretz revealed Tuesday. 

According to Haaretz, IDF's Home Front Command uploaded a map of coronavirus testing facilities across the country, which included sites on Israel Defense Forces bases. This not only provided the locations of IDF bases, but revealed previously secret military intelligence and air force bases. The map was created in cooperation with the Health Ministry and made available to Israeli citizens, until it was removed after the newspaper alerted the army to the error. 

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Update #1: Israeli Army Accidentally Reveals Secret Bases in Online Map (Haaretz) 

Update #2: Secret Israeli Military Bases' Locations Reportedly Revealed in Major Map Mishap (Sputnik) 

WNU Editor: Someone screwed up big time.

A U.S. Army AH-64 Apache Used An Israeli-Made Missile To Blast A Small Boat 20 Miles Off The Coast Of Florida

Warzone/The Drive: An Army AH-64 Apache Used An Israeli-Made Missile To Blast A Small Boat 20 Miles Away The Israeli Spike-NLOS missile will give the Army's AH-64s a new, extremely precise way to deal with threats on land and at sea at extended ranges. The U.S. Army and Air Force have offered new details about a test involving an AH-64E Apache attack helicopter firing an Israeli-made Spike-NLOS missile off the coast of Florida last month. The War Zone was first to report that this over-water launch had occurred in the course of our efforts to confirm a separate U.S. Navy Trident II submarine-launched ballistic missile test. The Apache, flying from Eglin Air Force Base and with support from the 96th Test Wing there, successfully fired the Spike-NLOS — this acronym standing for non-line of sight — at a stationary boat approximately 20 miles away in the second week of February. A subsequent test to demonstrate the ability to engage a moving watercraft was canceled due to adverse weather conditions. Read more .... WNU Editor: This missile appears to be incredibly accurate at long distances.

Massive Brawl Breaks Out At Israeli Military Training Base Injuring 21 Soldiers

Bedouin soldiers in the IDF (photo credit: IDF SPOKESPERSON'S OFFICE) 

Jerusalem Post: Brawl breaks out at IDF training base, 21 injured 

According to one of the witnesses, one of those involved even went so far as to load his weapon. 

A confrontation between two basic training companies - one from the Givati Brigade and the other from the Bedouin Reconnaissance Regiment - that broke out on Sunday at the Har Keren training base degenerated into a violent brawl. According to one of the witnesses, one of those involved even went so far as to load his weapon. 

Seven of the injured soldiers were evacuated to Soroka-University Medical Center in Beersheba with light injuries, while the rest were treated on base. 

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Update: 21 Israeli troops injured as two companies turn on each other in brawl at IDF training base (RT) 

WNU Editor: The brawl started over a disagreement about the line at the entrance to the dining room. But it did not stop there. The brawl continued among the injured soldiers at the hospital.

Israel Releases The First Photos From Its Newest Spy Satellite

A photograph of the Roman amphitheater in Palmyra, Syria, taken by Israel's Ofek 16 spy satellite, which was released by the Defense Ministry on August 24, 2020. (Defense Ministry)

Times of Israel: Israel releases newest spy satellite’s first photos, of Syria’s Palmyra ruins

Defense minister hails Ofek 16 and country’s other technologies as critical to security

The Defense Ministry on Tuesday released some of the first photographs taken by Israel’s newest spy satellite, showing ancient ruins in the central Syrian city of Palmyra.

On July 6, the Defense Ministry launched Ofek 16 into orbit and a week later activated its powerful camera arrays, but did not release the images taken by the satellite until now.

The three detailed black-and-white photographs focused on two main sites in Palmyra: a Roman amphitheater and the Temple of Bel, or Ba’al.

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WNU Editor: I am willing to bet that the images they can get from this spy satellite are far better than what they have publicly released.

More News On Israel Releasing The First Photos From Its Newest Spy Satellite

Here Are The First Public Images From Israel's Newest Spy Satellite -- Warzone/The Drive
Defense Ministry reveals first photos from Ofek 16 satellite over Syria -- Jerusalem Post
Israel releases spy satellite images of Syria's Palmyra -- AFP
Israel's new spy satellite releases photos from Syria -- YNet News

Israel Launches New Ofek 16 Spy Satellite To 'Monitor Iran'

Israel’s spy satellite, called Ofek 16, is shot into space, July 6, 2020. © Reuters / Israel Ministry of Defense Spokesperson's Office

RFE: Israel Launches New Spy Satellite To 'Monitor Iran'

Israel's Defense Ministry has announced the successful launch of a new spy satellite that the ministry said would provide high-quality surveillance for its military intelligence.

Israel has been building up its surveillance capabilities to monitor enemies such as Iran, whose nuclear program Israel sees as a major threat to its security.

The Defense Ministry said the Ofek-16 satellite was launched at 4 a.m. on July 6 from central Israel by a locally developed Shavit rocket. It described the Ofek as an “electro-optical reconnaissance satellite with advanced capabilities.”

The first images from the satellite are expected in about a week.

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More News On Israel Launching A New Spy Satellite

Israel launches spy satellite to keep a better eye on enemies -- Reuters
With Iran in its sights, Israel launches new spy satellite into orbit -- Times of Israel
Israel launches new Ofek 16 spy satellite -- FOX News
Israel launches reconnaissance satellite -- Space News
Ofek 16: Israel launches new spy satellite -- Al Jazeera
Israel launches spy satellite to provide surveillance for military intelligence -- RT

Why Israel Is A World Leader In ‘Special Mission’ Intelligence Aircraft

Wikipedia

Seth J. Frantzman, National Interest: How Israel Became a World Leader in ‘Special Mission’ Intelligence Aircraft

And why it matters.

Israel is building some of the most sophisticated special mission intelligence gathering aircraft globally, according to Israel Aerospace Industries. The Israeli company recently announced a new contract for a $350 million aircraft to be outfitted for a European country with IAI’s ELTA Systems. These aircraft are unique for intelligence gathering and are key to managing the modern battlefield countries find themselves competing in. However the specific components, capabilities and elements of these sophisticated aircraft are often sensitive information or shrouded in secrecy.

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WNU Editor:I sure there is going to be a global demand for their product.

Israel's Defense Ministry Unveils 3 Prototypes For Tanks Of The Future

Times of Israel: Defense Ministry unveils 3 prototypes for Israel’s tanks of the future

Carmel program yields first fruits as defense contractors offer proof of concept for a two-person tank, loaded with AI and improved visibility

The Defense Ministry on Sunday completed initial testing on a number of systems that it plans to install in both current and future models of the military’s armored vehicles, as part of its Carmel tank program.

Some of the systems will be implemented in the short term — including a high-tech helmet known as Iron Vision, which will be rolled out shortly — while others may be used further down the line, a Defense Ministry spokesperson said.

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WNU Editor: The Israeli Army is still hesitant to having unmanned systems on the ground .... Israeli army in no rush to go fully robotic (Reuters).

More News On Israel's Defense Ministry Unveiling 3 Prototypes For Tanks Of The Future

Israel unveils prototype 'tanks of the future' -- AFP
Israel Defense Ministry Unveils ‘Combat Vehicle of the Future’ -- Bloomberg
Israel unveils prototypes for 'combat vehicle of the future' -- Israel Hayom
'AI Systems, F-35 Helmets, Xbox Controllers': Israel Unveils 3 Prototypes of Next Generation Tanks -- Sputnik

Report: Israel Used New Supersonic Rampage Missiles During Airstrikes In Syria This Past Weekend

#Israel Air Force successfully used #Rampage for first time. Due to the danger of #Syria Air Defense Force's S-300PM-2s, #Israel Air Force had to use the rocket to target a rocket/ ballistic missile factory + weapon warehouses of #IRGC proxies in #Masyaf, #Syria on 13/04/2019: https://t.co/4YjD7ySZ5O

— Babak Taghvaee (@BabakTaghvaee) April 14, 2019

Defence-Blog: Israel reportedly used new supersonic Rampage missiles during airstrikes in Syria

The Israeli Air Force is reportedly successfully used new supersonic Rampage stand-off air-to-surface missiles for the first time during a recent airstrike on Syrian military positions.

Israel has reportedly conducted a number of strikes on sites around Masyaf in the predawn hours of Saturday morning. Satellite imagery analysis company ImageSat confirmed that Israel targeted the base in Masyaf.

A large hangar and three nearby buildings were destroyed in the attack on the facility, near the city of Masyaf in the western Hama province, according to the satellite images analyzed and distributed by ImageSat International.

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WNU Editor: For more information on Israel's Rampage missile, check the video below, or more at this link .... Israel Turns Artillery Rocket Into Supersonic 'Rampage' Air-Launched Stand-Off Weapon (The Drive)

More News On Reports That Israel Used New Supersonic Rampage Missiles During Airstrikes In Syria

Report: Israel used special missile in Syria attack -- Israel Hayom
Israel allegedly used new supersonic rampage missiles during Syria attack -- AMN
Israeli warplanes 'fire supersonic RAMPAGE missiles' in Syria airstrikes - shock claim -- Express
WATCH: Israel reportedly employed new Rampage missiles to evade Russian S-300s in Syria -- World Israel News

Israel Now Has Its Own Bunker Buster Missiles

The "Rocks" system deployed on an F-16 fighter jet. (photo credit: RAFAEL ADVANCED DEFENSE SYSTEMS)

Jerusalem Post: Israel unveils Rafael's new advanced bunker buster missile, 'Rocks'

The air-to-surface missile can be fired from a significant standoff range, reducing exposure of the aircraft.

With tensions still high between Israel and Iran a new air-to-surface long-range missile designed to destroy targets deep underground in heavily defended areas has been developed by Israeli defense giant Rafael Advanced Defense Systems.

Dubbed “Rocks,” the innovative missile is being presented this week for the first time at the Aero India Air Show in Bangalore, India.

Earlier in February, a senior Iranian Revolutionary Guards commander threatened to "raze Tel Aviv and Haifa to the ground" if the United States attacked the Islamic Republic.

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WNU Editor: I guess the U.S. bunker buster bombs are not good enough .... Israel Secretly Receives 55 Bunker Busting Bombs From The U.S. (September 24, 2011).

Ex-IDF General Reveals The Israeli Army's Deepest Secret. They Are Not Prepared For War

CC BY 2.0 / Israel Defense Forces / Brother's Keeper Operation in Judea & Samaria

Arutz Sheva: Retiring army ombudsman reveals IDF's 'deepest secret'

Yitzhak Brick asserts IDF is severely unprepared for war. 'If there's a war, the trauma of Yom Kippur will feel like a walk in the park.'

Gen. (res.) Yitzhak Brick, the IDF ombudsman who retired today, warned that the IDF is deliberately closing its eyes to its lack of preparedness for war.

"If there is a war, the trauma of Yom Kippur will be a walk in the park in comparison," Brick said in an interview with Kan 11.

He added, "We are building the army into a situation where it can give an answer to two threats: Lebanon and Gaza. There seems to have been a change in the Middle East, the Syrians have returned. The main threat that has not been taken into consideration is near us. Our army is built for a region-and-a-half. How do you build an army without taking changes in the Middle East into consideration? It's irresponsible at a national level."

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Update: Ex-IDF General Reveals Israeli Army's Deepest Secret (Sputnik)

WNU Editor: The Israel Army said last month that they have corrected the short-comings that Gen. (res.) Yitzhak Brick has pointed out in the past few months .... Defense Ministry ombudsman says IDF ground forces unprepared for war (Times of Israel). As to what is my take. If it is any consolation, I do not think Israel's enemies are ready for war either.

Outgoing IDF Chief Warns That Iran Wants To Deploy 100,000 Fighters To Syria

IDF Chief of Staff Gadi Eisenkot speaks at a conference in the Interdisciplinary Center in Herzliya on December 23, 2018. (Eli Dassa/IDC)

Times of Israel: IDF chief: Iran wants to deploy 100,000 fighters in Syria; we’re preventing it

Outgoing army commander Eisenkot admits failure in giving residents of southern Israel ‘feeling of security,’ but says people don’t see most of what army does.

Outgoing IDF chief Lt. Gen. Gadi Eisenkot on Sunday defended the military against recent criticism of insufficient action against Palestinian terrorism in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, saying the army’s primary goal in recent years has been thwarting Iran’s efforts to establish a permanent military presence in Syria. Tehran is seeking to establish a force of 100,000 fighters in Syria, he said, and the IDF is preventing it from doing so.

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More Remarks By Outgoing IDF Chief of Staff Gadi Eisenkot

Iran Seeking to 'Build a Force of 100,000 Ground Troops' in Syria - IDF Chief -- Sputnik
IDF chief: US troops leaving Syria is ‘significant,’ but no need to overstate it -- Times Of Israel
US Syria pullout: 'Significant event, but don't exaggerate' -- Arutz Sheva
IDF chief: Let's not make too much of Trump's Syria withdrawal -- Israel Hayom
Analysis Outgoing Israeli Army Chief Sends Stark Message to Politicians: Bluster Won't Stop Terror -- Haaretz

Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu: Developing ‘Offensive Missiles’ That Can Reach ‘Anywhere’ In The Middle East

Times Of Israel: Netanyahu: Israel developing missiles ‘no other country has’

PM says state-owned defense contractor working on weapons systems able to ‘reach anywhere in the area,’ hails IAI contributions to first Israeli lunar mission

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday said that Israel is developing missiles with “special capabilities that no other country has,” during a visit to state-owned defense contractor Israel Aerospace Industries.

“They are developing offensive missiles here that can reach anywhere in the area and any target,” Netanyahu said, according to a statement from his office. “This is the offensive power of the State of Israel, which is very important for us in all sectors.”

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WNU Editor: Iran has responded .... Zarif blasts Netanyahu for ‘boasting of offensive missiles’ (Press TV)

More News On Israeli Claims That They Are Developing ‘Offensive Missiles’ That Can Reach ‘Anywhere’ In The Middle East

Netanyahu: Israel has missiles that can strike any target in the Middle East -- Jerusalem Post
Netanyahu: Our Missiles Are Better than Yours -- Jerusalem Online
Tel Aviv Developing Missiles to Reach Any Target in Middle East - Netanyahu Boasts -- Al Bawaba
Israel developing ‘offensive missiles’ that can reach ‘anywhere’ in the Middle East – Netanyahu -- RT

Inside Israel's Top-Secret Anti-Terror Operation Center

Tel Aviv, Israel. December 2017. YAMAM rappellers simulate retaking a skyscraper from terrorists. Video still by Adam Ciralsky.

Adam Ciralsky, Vanity Fair: “We Try to Learn Every Terrorist Attack”: Inside the Top-Secret Israeli Anti-Terrorism Operation That’s Changing the Game

Governments around the world are quietly turning to YAMAM, Israel’s special police force, for help with their most intractable security problems. And now, elite commandos publicly reveal the tactics that have made it one of the most fearsome counterterrorism units in the world.

I pursued my enemies and overtook them; I did not turn back until they were destroyed. —Psalm 18:37 (motto of Israel’s clandestine counterterror squad)

On a spring evening in late April, I traveled to a fortified compound in the Ayalon Valley between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. The location is not identified on Waze, the Israeli-built navigation tool, and so, as far as my app-addled cabdriver was concerned, it does not exist. Then again, the same could be said for its inhabitants: YAMAM, a band of counterterror operatives whose work over the last four decades has been shrouded in secrecy.

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WNU Editor: A must read.

IDF Officer Who Shot Down Syrian Plane In July Speaks Of The Engagement

Captain Or Naaman, who commanded the team that shot down a Syrian plane, in an interview broadcast on September 17, 2018. (Screen capture: Hadashot news)

Times of Israel: IDF officer who shot down Syrian plane speaks of tension before missile launch

Captain Or Naaman says of the July incident, ‘You take deep breaths and you wait to hear and see that you knocked out the target’.

Captain Or Naaman, the IDF officer who commanded the unit that downed a Syrian plane after it entered Israeli airspace in July, described the tension in the control station during the operation, in an interview with Hadashot news shown Monday.

According to the Israeli military, a Syrian Sukhoi fighter jet entered Israeli airspace over the Golan Heights on July 24, traveling approximately two kilometers (one mile) before it was shot down by two Israeli Patriot interceptor missiles.

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WNU Editor: I am sure the tension was sky-high when this was happening.

Iran And Israel Continue To Expand Their Missile Arsenal

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, in white turban, learns about the phased array radar associated with the Bavar 373 surface-to-air missile system, seen in the background, in 2016. President.ir

War Zone/The Drive: Iran Claims Successful Ballistic Missile Defense Test as Israel Builds A Missile Corps

Israel's plan involves dramatically expanding its arsenal of guided artillery rockets and ballistic missiles.

Iran claims that it has successfully tested its Bavar 373 long-range surface-to-air missile system in a ballistic missile defense role. True or not, the announcement comes as Israel is expanding its own conventional ballistic missile and long-range rocket artillery capabilities, some of which it has already used against Iranian interests in neighboring Syria, as part of a larger plan to create a new “Missile Corps.”

Iranian Air Defense Force Brigadier General Mahmoud Ebrahiminejad, Deputy Commander of the Khatam al-Anbia Air Defense Base said that the test had occurred in 2017 during an interview with Iran’s Tasnim News Agency on Sept. 10, 2018. Iran has been working on the Bavar 373 since at least 2011 and declared that it completed its initial operational evaluation in January 2018.

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WNU Editor: The Middle Eastern arms race continues.

A Look At Seven Weapons That The Israeli Defense Forces Use

We Are The Mighty: 7 powerful weapons used by the Israel Defense Forces

TEL AVIV --- At the end of the day, Israel's greatest weapon to fight its enemies is people who serve in the IDF. This tiny country had to fight for its survival against all its neighbors on three separate occasions.

But even when they fought for independence using a patchwork force of militias and prayer, they still needed weapons.

Nowadays, Hezbollah; Hamas; Islamic Jihad; and the 9,482* other groups bent on Israel's destruction aren't held back with prayer.

Maintaining Israel's security is a unique strategic challenge that has forced the Jewish state to adopt the technology of others, while also innovating some of its own solutions to keep the peace — and fight when needed.

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WNU Editor:  The most powerful weapon in the IDF is not even mentioned .... its nuclear weapons.

Try To Spot The Israeli Sniper

Have you ever played “Where’s Waldo?” IDF style? pic.twitter.com/8e88bJTJeT

— IDF (@IDFSpokesperson) January 24, 2018

WNU Editor: The above Tweet is from this link .... Shalom! Top 5 Amusing Promotional Videos by Israeli Defense Forces (Sputnik)