Israel plans to place two radar antennae near its Dimona nuclear reactor, Agence France-Presse reported today (see GSN, May 7).
Installation is expected to begin within two weeks and to take roughly three months to complete, Maariv reported. The equipment would be linked to a wider missile defense radar system that the United States is deploying in Israel, according to the newspaper (see GSN, Sept. 29).
The Israeli army confirmed that new construction is taking place, but a spokesman described it only as involving a "military facility serving current military activities" (Agence France-Presse/Spacewar.com, Oct. 3).
Meanwhile, some Israeli officials are expressing concern about their nation's plans to host the U.S.-staffed X-band radar site, Time reported.
One senior Israeli defense official said that while the U.S. radar would boost Israel's defenses against potential Iranian air or missile attacks, the United States could also use it to spy on the sensitive military activities of its ally.
"Even a husband and wife have a few things they'd like to keep from each other," the official said. "Now we're standing without our clothes on in front of America."
Israel would receive no direct information from the radar unless it involved a missile attack in progress, according to Israeli officials.
The sources said they also feared the site would strain ties with Russia if it could peer into the former Soviet state's airspace (McGirk/Kein, Time, Oct. 2).