Wednesday, August 27, 2008

Yaakov Katz , THE JERUSALEM POST Aug. 27, 2008
www.jpost.com
/servlet/Satellite?cid=1219572136078&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShow

The Israel Air Force has purchased a unique material that can be laid on
bombed-out runways within minutes to enable fighter jets to take off with
barely any delay, defense officials revealed Tuesday.

Until now, the IAF had been dependent on asphalt companies to repave damaged
runways. The new solution can allow a base to resume operations within
minutes.

The air force recently conducted a number of tests with the new material,
including the takeoff of fully-loaded fighter jets.

A top IAF officer told The Jerusalem Post the decision to buy the material
was made in line with the lessons learned from the Second Lebanon War, when
more than 4,000 Hizbullah rockets pounded Israel.

The IAF was concerned that Syria and Hizbullah would target air bases in an
effort to neutralize Israel's fighter-jet capability, the officer said.

"Our assumption is that we will be under a heavy barrage of missiles in a
future conflict," the officer said. "This applies to all of the air force
bases - in the South and the North."

For this reason, the IAF is also considering purchasing several Joint Strike
Fighters, which have vertical-takeoff capability. The IDF has announced
plans to purchase at least 25 F-35 jets with the option to purchase dozens
more.

The decision to consider the vertical-takeoff airplane, the F-35B, was made
due to an understanding that in time of war Israeli bases and runways would
be heavily targeted by enemy missiles.

Also Tuesday, the Israel Air Force's official magazine reported on a new
avionics system installed in F-15I fighter jets that enables pilots to drop
several smart bombs simultaneously. Smart bombs, or precision-guided
munitions, are guided weapons intended to maximize damage to the target
while minimizing civilian damage.

The F-15I is Israel's most advanced bomber and has a range of over 4,000
kilometers with the ability to reach speeds of up to Mach 2.5. The plane can
carry an assortment of missiles.