'Israel overnight strike targeted Iranian missile shipment meant for Hezbollah'

How do the  Israelis come to know about these terrorist weapons? Excellent intelligence ?

Only a few days after an alleged Israeli strike, Syrian media reports Israeli rocket fire targeted a military research center; Western intel sources confirm Syrian reports, say targets were Iranian Fateh-110 surface-to-surface missiles

he sources said the target was a shipment of Fateh-110 missiles. The Fateh-110 is a medium-range advanced guided missile capable of hitting targets at a range of up to 300 kilometers.

Israeli air force shoots down drone

Israeli Air Force Commander Maj. Gen. Eshel Flies Cobra

Maj. Gen. Eshel joins Cobra helicopter squadron training after its return to regular activity, a month and a half after being grounded following an accident



The Israel Air Force's Cobra (Tzefa) helicopters have returned to flight activity, more than a month after the accident of the Cobra helicopter that cost the lives of Lt. Col. Noam Ron and Maj. Erez Flesker, and prior to the conclusion of the full investigation.

The findings of the investigation pointed to the accident being caused by a technical failure, and the IAF decided to return the first combat helicopter squadron to full activity.

The commander of the IAF, Maj. Gen. Amir Eshel, joined the squadron training that took place yesterday. "We lost two of our best fighters as a result of a technical malfunction. The investigation has yet to conclude, and we will continue until we reach all of the necessary conclusions in order to safely return to operational capability. There is considerable operational importance to the layout's return to activity, and the Tzefa is very relevant to the changing reality along our borders," said Maj. Gen. Eshel. 

Satellite images reveal unscathed SSRC facility in Syria

Israel's Channel 2 broadcast satellite images of the Scientific Studies and Research Center (Centre D'Etudes et de Recherches Scientifiques) in Jamraya. The images, which were reportedly taken by DigitalGlobe, showed that the complex was unscathed despite claims by the Syrian regime that it was the target of an Israeli raid last week.

If the images, taken four days after the alleged bombing, are genuine, they all but confirm the belief among US officials that Israel's primary target in last week's raid was a convoy of antiaircraft weapons and not the SSRC facility. The images would also likely confirm the belief among US officials that the purported damage seen to the SSRC facility in the video released by Syrian state television on Feb. 2 was most likely the result of "secondary explosions from munitions in the convoy."

On Feb. 2, Threat Matrix noted that the footage purporting to show the damage caused by Israel's airstrikes showed "extremely limited" damage to the SSRC facility.

While the images may debunk the Syrian regime's claims as to what was struck, they do appear to support the belief that the antiaircraft missiles that were struck were located very close to the SSRC facility in Jamraya. In the images broadcast today a burnt road is clearly visible near the facility, possibly indicating the location of the Syrian weapons convoy when it was hit.

Israeli drone

Israeli hits Syrian convoy near Lebanon border

Israel Air Force Strike with Secondary Explosions

Elbit Systems gets Israeli defence contracts worth $315 mln

Elbit Systems has won various contracts from Israel's Ministry of Defence in a number of fields worth a total of $315 million, the Israeli defence electronics firm said on Monday.

It will supply battle management systems and avionics for helicopters, virtual training for the Israeli Air Force's (IAF) fighter aircraft and operation and maintenance services for the IAF's Flight Academy, worth $75 million, covering deliveries over six years.

It will also provide Hermes 900 unmanned aircraft systems within three years as well as maintenance services over a period of eight years, for a total value of $90 million.

Elbit will supply over four years electronic warfare systems for F-15 and F-16 fighter aircraft and for the navy's missile vessels, for a total amount of $90 million. It will also provide electro-optic systems worth $25 million and land systems worth $35 million.

Israel maintains military assets in Eritrea to spy on Iran

JERUSALEM, Dec. 12 — Israel has set up military bases in Eritrea to monitor Iran and other hostile activities in the Red Sea, Stratfor Global Intelligence reported Wednesday.

The U.S.-based strategy consultancy firm quoted “diplomatic sources” as saying that the Israeli military presence is comprised of docks and small naval units in the Dahlak Archipelago and Massawa, and a listening post on Mt. Amba Sawara.

“Israel’s presence in Eritrea is very focused and precise, involving intelligence gathering in the Red Sea and monitoring Iran’s activities,” Stratfor said.

According to the report, the East African nation has become an arena of operations for both Israel and Iran, with both vying to bolster their influence in the Horn of Africa.

The Israeli operations in the area are believed to mainly focus on tracking Iranian arms smuggling to militants in the Gaza Strip and Lebanon. Ships loaded with rockets and other munitions travel through the Red Sea to Sudan and Egypt, from where the cargo is then transferred via land routes to Gaza or placed on ships bound for Syria and Lebanon.

The Israel Air Force has reportedly attacked arms convoys in Sudan several times in the past, and is widely credited with the October bombing of the Yarmouk munitions plant near the Sudanese capital of Khartoum where Iran had presumably planned to set up a workshop for manufacturing long-range missiles.

Though Israel kept mum on the affair, an Israeli official told The Sunday Times last month that Iran has built a “strategic arm” in Gaza.

“Regardless of the ceasefire agreement (with Hamas), we will attack and destroy any shipment of arms to Gaza,” he said.

According to Stratfor, in addition to Israel, Eritrea accommodates Iranian military operations “relevant to Tehran’s larger goal of controlling the Bab el-Mandab Strait and the water route to the Suez Canal.”

“In exchange for resources, possibly including modest amounts of cash and weapons, Eritrea has exhibited a willingness to become a base of support for Middle Eastern powers,” the report analyzes Asmara’s decision to nurture relations with the two rival nations.

It said Eritrea seeks to befriend Israel for “numerous security and political reasons,” such as Israel’s “close ties with Washington… and to acquire better air defense capabilities to defend against a possible attack from Ethiopia,” as well as ” balancing its controversial relationship with Tehran.”

Eritrea is not the only base for Israeli military operations abroad.

Earlier this month, The Sunday Times reported that numerous reports over the past year have claimed that Israel is maintaining a military presence in Azerbaijan, where it deploys unmanned Predator drones to preemptively strike Iranian missile sites in the event of a war.

According to other reports, Israel has purchased an abandoned airfield in the country from which it could launch a strike on Tehran’s nuclear facilities.

Several F-16 engines stolen from Israeli base

Somebody in the Middle Kingdom wants these engines desperately since the Russian engines are getting harder to copy.  I would speculate that these would go into the J - 10s 

The Malaysians also have pulled off this earlier

For a second year, American-built fighter jet engines have been stolen from an Israeli air base.
Reports out of Israel on Thursday say that several F-16 engines have been stolen from a base in a central part of the country. Israel Defense Forces officials suspect the engines were stolen with inside help, though by whom and for what purpose they do not know. The IDF speculates the engines may have been stolen to be sold for scrap.


In June 2011, the IDF reported the loss of eight F-15 and F-16 fighter engines from a base at Tel Nof near Jerusalem. Officials played down the loss saying the engines were old or retired and likely stolen for scrap. They said that some countries would see value in having them and taking them apart.


They’re still more modern than anything in the Iranian air force inventory, and they would even be helpful to China in their jet engine development. The engines would each weigh more than 3,700 pounds.

John Pike, director of GlobalSecurity​.org, an Alexandria, Va., defense and intelligence think tank, said at the time that even old F-15 and F-16 engines were “better than anything the communist Chinese have.”

The engines, which could be Pratt & Whitney or GE, have “superior” thrust-to-weight ratio and better fuel consumption than anything in the Chinese air force, he said.Pentagon officials last year offered no comment on the thefts but referred questions to the Israelis.

History has shown it’s not impossible to steal jet engines.
In two cases, investigative officials found the thieves had inside help. In 2009, two F-5 engines were stolen from an airbase in Malaysia, tracked to Argentina and ultimately located in Uruguay. A Malaysian air force sergeant was charged along with a businessman with stealing the engines.
In 1989, two U.S. Air Force security policemen were charged in connection with the theft of three F-16 engines from Hill Air Force Base, Utah. Those engines were recovered.

Isreali press blames "Bedouins driving SUVs"

http://www.jta.org/news/article/2012/12/07/3113931/f-16-engines-appear-stolen-from-idf-base