Armée Israélienne / Israel Defense Forces (IDF)

Rappel du premier message :

ils sont tres modifiés les Apaches de l'IDF,question
qu'es ce que c'est les deux demi boules sur les moignons d'ailes?

Pour moi c'est un fake,mais le camouflage est vraiment israelien.

Une batterie de Patriot sous la neige dans le nord d'Israel

Des unités israéliennes traversant le Canal en novembre dernier

Sa'ar 5



Sa'ar 4.5



Sa'ar 4

Citation :

Israel reports improved bunker-busters could destroy nuke sites on first strike

TEL AVIV — Israel has reported the enhancement of bunker-busters for its Air Force, without U.S. assistance.

The state-owned Israel Military Industries has upgraded the capabilities
of its MPR-500 missiles. IMI said the missile, deployed on the F-15 and
F-16 combat aircraft, could be used to penetrate bunkers.


“This is a precision-guided weapon that would ensure that targets are destroyed during a first strike,” an official said.
IMI has been developing bunker-busters as part of an Israeli program to end its reliance on U.S. and other foreign munitions. MPR-500 was designed to be installed in the U.S.-origin Paveway air-to-ground attack kit.
The Air Force has been equipped with U.S.-origin bunker-busters. But
over the last five years, Israel has been repeatedly denied requests for
advanced U.S. munitions that could destroy underground Iranian facilities.
Officials said MPR-500, which weighs 250 kilograms, contains a circle error of probability of as little as two meters. They said this would enable the destruction of Iranian or other enemy nuclear and non-conventional weapons facilities without repeated bombings.
IMI said the new bunker-buster could penetrate four double-reinforced
concrete walls or floors with a thickness of 200 mm each. The company
released a video in which MPR also penetrated a one-meter double-reinforced
concrete wall.
The Israeli web site Ynet reported that IMI and the Israel Air Force
tested the missile recently. Ynet said MPR was said to have proven its
capability to “easily penetrate bunkers and deeply hidden underground weapon
caches.”

http://www.worldnewstribune.com/2012/03/06/israel-reports-improved-bunker-busters-could-destroy-nuke-sites-on-first-strike/

Exercice des commandos Yahalom (j'ai eu la chance de rencontrer le fondateur des Yahalom,son fils sert actuellement dans cette meme unite a l'heure actuel)

Sayeret Rimon,division Givati

Arrow 3 teste sur la base aerienne de Palmahim.

Vidéos publiées par Tsahal sur ces récents bombardements :

Citation :

Israel Unveils New Bunker Buster



Israel last week unveiled an improved precision, bunker-burrowing weapon, the latest in a series of operational upgrades aimed at honing what one official here labeled “a very credible military option” against the Iranian nuclear threat.

Built by state-owned Israel Military Industries (IMI), the 500-pound MPR-500 is an electro-optical or laser-guided projectile that can penetrate double-reinforced concrete walls or floors without breaking apart. It is designed as an upgrade to the U.S. Mk82, thousands of which are in Israel Air Force stocks, and can use Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) kits or Paveway for guidance.

In an operational test video released March 6, the MPR-500 is seen penetrating four reinforced concrete walls, with fragmentation from the explosion limited to a radius of less than three meters.

“The lethality, precision ... and relatively low weight enables its use against multiple targets in a single pass; an element that increases the operational effectiveness of attack,” according to IMI.

The MPR-500 bridges an operational gap between the 250-pound U.S. GBU-39 small-diameter bomb — 1,000 of which were approved for sale to Israel — and the 5,000-pound GBU-28.

In parallel, the Air Force is planning to enlarge its Boeing 707-based aerial refueling tanker fleet.

Once deployed, the expanded tanker fleet will be capable of providing nearly 2 million pounds of fuel, allowing dozens of Israeli F-15 and F-16 fighters to carry more weapons for long-range strategic bombing missions.

The Israeli daily Ma’ariv newspaper reported March 8 that Washington had offered to augment Israel’s aerial refueling and limited bunker-busting capabilities on condition that Israel refrain from waging an independent attack on Iran this year. An Israeli security source denied that report, insisting there was no “quid pro quo” linkage between the timing of future Israeli operations and additional capabilities that may be forthcoming from Washington.

A U.S. government source confirmed that additional GBU-28s were a subject of bilateral talks. However, he insisted that beyond the 100 GBU-28s authorized for Israel in 2005 and another 50 approved in 2007, there have been no new notifications to Congress regarding potential sales.

Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz, Israel Defense Forces chief of staff, is expected to discuss options for enhancing Israel’s so-called qualitative military edge in meetings with U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, scheduled next week in Washington.

http://www.defensenews.com/article/20120311/DEFREG04/303110001/Israel-Unveils-New-Bunker-Buster?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|FRONTPAGE

Citation :

Gaza rockets penetrate Israeli defense system due to Iron Dome malfunction


Two rockets hit Be'er Sheva school and residential neighborhood; senior official to Haaretz: Iron Dome cannot provide absolute protection.


A technical failure led to two Grad rockets striking Be'er Sheva on Sunday afternoon, Col. Tzvika Haimovich, head of the IDF's active aerial defense system, told Haaretz.

One rocket hit a school that was empty at the time and the other struck a parked car in a residential neighborhood.

"Unfortunately, the incident in Be'er Sheva happened because of a technical failure in one of the system's components," Haimovich said. "It happened exactly when a rocket was in the air. We are doing everything to make sure there are no failures… but it would be irresponsible and unprofessional of me to say there is 100 percent protection."

The Iron Dome system has intercepted 40 rockets since Friday. More than 90 rockets have fallen in Israeli territory during that time. The Iron Dome is designed to intercept only rockets identified as heading toward populated areas.

Earlier on Sunday, security officials said the Iron Dome systems performed extraordinarily. The systems use a missile called "Tamir" to intercept incoming rockets, with each missile priced at approximately NIS 200,000.

Also on Sunday, Defense Minister Ehud Barak said he intends to define the multi-level antimissile interception system as a national security project. Barak is demanding faster deployment of additional Iron Dome systems and the completion and deployment of the "Magic Wand" system, which is designed to intercept long-range rockets.

School was called off on Sunday in Ashkelon, Be'er Sheva, Ashdod and other regional councils in Israel south, affecting some 207,000 students. On Monday, classes will be cancelled in towns located within 40 kilometers of the Gaza Strip.

...

haaretz

Kipat Barzel







Merkava aux frontières avec gaza

Citation :

Israeli Westwind maritime patrol aircraft to fly on


The Israeli air force and navy have decided to prolong the service life of their Israel Aerospace Industries Westwind 1124 maritime patrol aircraft.

Operated by the air force on behalf of the navy, the "Shahaf" is an 1124 business jet equipped with advanced sensors, mostly supplied by IAI's Elta Systems subsidiary. The aircraft's main sensor is a high-power maritime surveillance radar.

IAI Heron unmanned air systems have been operating in parallel with the 1124 fleet for the last several years, as the air force previously intended to phase out the manned aircraft when the UAS is able to perform the mission fully.

Recently, the navy and air force decided to prolong use of the Shahaf by performing fuselage and wing treatments and by upgrading the aircraft's sensors.

One source says the decision was made due to the speed of the 1124 and the effectiveness of its radar.

"In the current situation in the Mediterranean, we need special capabilities. One is getting fast to a certain spot," the source says. Israel is currently using its manned and unmanned aircraft to protect large undersea gas reserves that have been discovered off its coast.

flightglobal

Citation :

Israel's M-346 selection fires up TOR joint venture



Israel's mid-February selection of the Alenia Aermacchi M-346 as the next advanced jet trainer for the nation's air force represents the green light for joint-venture service provider TOR to start work.

Formed by Elbit Systems and Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) to facilitate the introduction of a fleet to replace the nation's Douglas A-4 Skyhawks, TOR will finance the purchase of about 30 twin-engined M-346 aircraft on behalf of the defence ministry.

n return for its financial support, the Israeli air force will buy flight hours on the new type at its flight academy at Hazerim air base, and also grant TOR a 20-year support and maintenance contract to support its activities using company personnel.

Initial indications suggest the M-346 deal could potentially value at $1 billion, with sources putting TOR's part in the financing programme at about $600 million. The remainder of the funds will come from foreign military financing grants to Israel from the USA. Israel can make use of the latter mechanism because the M-346 uses Honeywell F124 engines and other systems manufactured in the USA.

Formally selected following a protracted competition against the Korea Aerospace Industries T-50, the M-346 will enter Israeli service from 2014, the nation's air force said.

If the deal with TOR is concluded, Israel will become the third country to acquire the M-346, following Alenia Aermacchi's previous receipt of contracts from Italy and Singapore. Last month, the company delivered its second T-346A trainer to an Italian air force evaluation unit under an initial six-aircraft deal. It will hand over the first of 12 to the Republic of Singapore Air Force later this year.

Israel's search for a new advanced jet trainer has been a long one, with its requirement having been hindered by lack of funds. IAI had previously offered to develop two military versions of the Javelin very light/personal jet, then being developed by the USA's Advanced Technologies Group, but development work ended in 2008 after the latter failed to secure the $200 million required to pursue certification activities for the type.

Fielding a new jet trainer is the last major link in the modernisation of the Israeli air force's pilot-training mechanism, with the Grob G120A and Hawker Beechcraft T-6A used to deliver basic and primary instruction respectively. The future M-346 fleet will replace a mixed inventory of two-seat TA-4H/Js, 20 of which are in active use as recorded by Flightglobal's MiliCAS database. Israel also operates single-seat A-4Ns to support its training needs.

flightglobal

Citation :

Israeli soldiers watch as a missile is launched from the Iron Dome defence system in the southern Israeli city of Beer Sheva on March 12, 2012

Citation :

La modernisation de Tsahal (Deuxième partie). Le blindé Namer, les bombardiers Ra'am et Soufa et autres chasseurs F-35.

Le plan « Tefen 2012 », vaste programme de restructuration de Tsahal, se concentre sur trois aspects : la modernisation complète des effectifs, la remise à niveau des stocks de munitions et surtout, la planification massive d’exercices.

Dans le cadre du plan, l’armée israélienne introduit progressivement le Namer (Tigre), un nouveau transport de troupes dont la production a officiellement démarré en 2007. Sa principale caractéristique est qu’il reprend le châssis du tank Merkava IV, réputé pour son invulnérabilité. Le 13ème régiment Golani, l’une des principales unités d’infanterie de Tsahal, utilise ce blindé depuis l’offensive « Plomb durci » menée contre la bande de Gaza. D’ici 2014, trois autres régiments Golani devraient être à leur tour équipés du Namer.

Sur le plan logistique, ce véhicule peut transporter jusqu’à onze hommes. Il est aussi doté d’un système optronique particulièrement utile en cas de mauvaises conditions météorologiques, ses caméras offrant une vision panoramique à tous les membres d’équipage. A l’instar du Merkava IV, le Namer comporte un système de communication et de gestion du champ de bataille qui assure l’interface avec les soldats engagés au sol. Selon les modèles, il dispose de deux systèmes de défense active : le système APS (Active Protection System) et le Trophy.




Au niveau de l’armée de l’air, Gaby Ashkenazi a jugé essentiel qu’Israël réaffirme sa suprématie aérienne au Moyen-Orient. Tout au long de son mandat, le chef d’état-major de Tsahal s’est maintes fois inquiété du renforcement des capacités de la Syrie. Après avoir négocié la livraison de deux escadrilles de Mig-29 et Mig-31, le régime de Bachar Assad tenterait d’arracher à la Russie plusieurs armements défensifs de pointe, notamment le redoutable système anti-aérien SA-300. Dans le même temps, Ashkenazi est conscient que les velléités nucléaires de l’Iran imposent l’élaboration d’une réponse militaire d’envergure en cas d’échec de la diplomatie. Pour ses missions de longue portée, l’aviation de Tsahal abrite dans ses hangars 27 F-15I (« Ra’am ») et 102 F-16I (« Soufa »). En principe, ces deux bombardiers sont en mesure de mener des frappes contre les installations nucléaires iraniennes. Mais sans l’appui d’avions de guerre électronique – type Awacs -, ils restent détectables au radar et donc vulnérables. C’est précisément dans cette optique que les pilotes de chasse israéliens s’entrainent depuis plusieurs années. Appuyés par des appareils de ravitaillement ou de brouillage électronique, ils accentuent leurs vols sur des longues distances.

En Méditerranée, des manœuvres conjointes se déroulent régulièrement avec plusieurs pays de l’OTAN comme la Grèce et l’Italie. En outre, sous l’impulsion d’Ido Nehoushtan, promu commandant de l’armée de l’air en février 2008, la préparation aux duels aériens a été remise au goût du jour. L’hypothèse de « doghfights » est jugée plausible si des frappes stratégiques devaient être ordonnées contre l’Iran et la Syrie. Pour se préparer à une telle éventualité, l’« escadrille rouge » (dite « escadrille 115 ») a été réactivée. Basée à Ovda, près d’Eilat, cette unité non opérationnelle a pour seule mission d’entrainer les « Top Gun » de l’armée israélienne à affronter des chasseurs d’interception ennemis. Pendant les exercices, plus vrais que nature, les pilotes de l’« escadrille rouge » portent une combinaison de l’armée syrienne, et leurs avions sont flanqués d’un drapeau aux couleurs du régime baasiste.



Le plan Tefen accorde par ailleurs de nouveaux moyens à l’armée de l’air. Pour la guérilla urbaine, Tsahal fait commande de 12 hélicoptères d’attaque « Apache Longbow », tandis que les vieux transports de troupes Sikorsky CH-53 sont remplacés par des « Yasur 2000 », d’envergure identique mais plus modernes. La priorité absolue du général Gaby Ashkenazi reste néanmoins le F-35, construit par le géant Lockheed Martin. Dès 2008, la DSCA – l’agence régulant les ventes d’armes américaines à l’étranger – donne un avis favorable à la demande d’Israël de se procurer 25 F-35 Lightning II.

Une option portant sur 50 autres appareils est même suggérée. Mais l’affaire connait des remous. Les responsables israéliens expriment plusieurs objections qui retardent la conclusion d’un accord. Ils voient en particulier d’un mauvais œil le fait que l’Arabie Saoudite et l’Egypte, clients traditionnels des industries de défense américaines, cherchent également à se doter du F-35. L’autre point de friction du dossier résulte de l’insistance de l’Etat hébreu à vouloir remplacer certains composants électroniques du chasseur américain par des équipements de sa propre industrie militaire. Israël cherche en réalité à réduire le coût unitaire de chaque appareil, évalué entre 70 et 100 millions de dollars. Au terme de négociations particulièrement âpres, les deux alliés finissent par s’entendre. En octobre 2010, le ministère israélien de la défense confirme l’achat de 20 F-35 pour un montant de 2,25 milliards de dollars. Ces avions sont également connus sous l’appellation Joint Strike Fighter (JSF)9.

Même si la livraison des premiers appareils n’est prévue qu’en 2015, Tsahal interprète l’acquisition du F-35 comme une grande victoire. Il est vrai qu’avec un appareil doté de la technologie aéronautique la plus avancée au monde, l’aviation israélienne augmente considérablement ses capacités offensives. Du fait de sa furtivité, le F-35 entre dans la catégorie des avions de cinquième génération. Ses ailes triangulaires lui permettent de bénéficier d’une autonomie importante et d’une manœuvrabilité comparable au chasseur F-16. De plus, grâce à ses 7 pylônes externes, il peut transporter jusqu’à 9 tonnes de charges : réservoirs, bombes guidées, missiles de croisière et missiles air-air.

Merveille technologique, son avionique est basée sur un processeur central à très haute capacité de calcul, capable de centraliser et de restituer les informations fusionnées par différents capteurs. Ultime particularité : le pilote du F-35 est équipé d’un casque HMDS (Helmet Mounted Display System), conçu par le fabricant israélien Elbit. Un tel système permet aussi bien de désigner des cibles par un simple mouvement de la tête, que de voir à travers le plancher de l’appareil, pendant les manœuvres d’atterrissage vertical par exemple.

Spoiler:

http://www.israelvalley.com

Citation :

Rafael eyes Iron Dome exports after Gaza



Tel Aviv, Israel - Israel's Rafael Advanced Defense Systems is looking to export its Iron Dome counter-rocket system because of its high interception rate against a four-day onslaught by Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip.

"The Iron Dome system has proved to a major game-changer in the most recent round of conflict with Islamist terror organizations operating in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip," The Jerusalem Post crowed in an editorial Tuesday.

"Israel will be able to profit from Iron Dome, which has proved itself in combat, by selling it to other countries."

Foreign sales, potentially worth several billion dollars, would help the financially strapped Israeli government fund production of such systems to counter an unprecedented missile threat that will target Israelis cities.

The United States, which has provided some $400 million toward developing and producing Iron Dome since 2007, India, South Korea and some NATO members have expressed interest in acquiring the system.

The military boasted that the three Iron Dome batteries deployed in the southern Negev Desert knocked out close to 90 percent of the short-range Qassam and longer-range, Soviet-designed Grad rockets launched toward Beersheba, Ashdod and Ashkelon from Friday through Monday.

The military said a fourth battery will be deployed soon. Nine batteries are scheduled for deployment by mid-2013.

The Israeli air force, which operates all air-defense systems, says 20 batteries are needed to provide effective cover for the entire country.

Until the latest surge of fighting on the border with Gaza, Iron Dome's interception rate was around 75 percent following its first operational deployment in March 2011.

The military said that the battery protecting Beersheba allowed two Grad rockets through Sunday because of what it described as a "technical failure in one of the system's components."

One hit an empty school and the other blew up a parked car in a residential neighborhood, although no casualties were reported.

That prompted Col. Tzvika Haimovich, of the air force's air defense division, to downplay the high expectations of the Israeli defense establishment that Iron Dome is a wonder weapon that can provide 100 percent protection.

"Iron Dome has many components and in spite of its technical achievements, it has technical failures," Haimovich said, echoing what many critics of the system have long maintained.

"I have to say, there is no hermetic seal and so only a combination of Iron Dome and civilians adhering to the Home Front Command's directives will be able to maximize the defense arch."

Iron Dome, designed to intercept rockets and missiles with a range of 2.5-43 miles, locks on to those that the system's computer plots will impact in populated areas or strategic facilities.

The system ignores projectiles whose trajectories point to open ground.

The military said some 230 Qassams, manufactured in makeshift factories in Gaza's labyrinthine urban sprawl, and the Russian-made 122mm Grad battlefield rockets smuggled in from Egypt, were fired into Israel during the recent clashes.

Iron Dome shot down more than 40 of those it engaged.

The Grads were the Israelis' main concern because they can reach the urban areas and carry a more destructive warhead than the Qassams.

Haimovich conceded that Iron Dome was "stretched to the max" in terms of its capabilities but was protecting larger areas than before.

But this begs the question whether the system, if it's stretched coping with 200-plus missiles over four days, will be able to effectively counter the massive barrages Israel's military chiefs anticipate from Iran, Syria, Hezbollah in Lebanon and Palestinian hardliners in Gaza if all-out war breaks out.

Iron Dome is the bottom tier of a planned four-level Israeli air defense shield, with state-owned Rafael's David's Sling, under development, handling the medium-range missiles and Arrow 2 and 3 missiles, produced by Israel Aerospace Industries, the ballistic missiles in Iran and Syria.

Israel estimates that Hezbollah alone has up to 45,000 rockets and missiles.

During the 34-day 2006 war, when Israel first grasped the extent of the missile threat it faces and scrambled to seeking defensive systems, Hezbollah fired 3,900 projectiles into northern Israel, an average of some 120 a day.

In the nightmare scenario now envisaged by the military, Israel faces being hammered by up to 400 a day for several weeks.

http://www.spacewar.com/reports/Rafael_eyes_Iron_Dome_exports_after_Gaza_999.html

Sayeret Alpini/commando de haute montagne.

Videos des operations de Tsahal dernierement sur le front sud.


Interception d'une roquette Grad 122mm par Iron Dome

Message des soldats israeliens operant sur Iron dome a la nation israelienne.

Photo d'un duo de drones Heron T/Hermes 450 au dessus de gaza lors des operations.

Exercice Israelo-Polonais entre les deux forces aeriennes a Ovda,le Chef de l'armee de l'air polonaise est lui meme en Israel.
Au menu Doghfight entre F-15/16 israelien contre F-16 polonais.

Citation :

Joint Exercise with Polish Air Force

Perhaps in response to the international exercise which is scheduled for the year 2013 at "Ovda" airbase, and perhaps because of the complex training experience, air forces from around the world are arriving to practice with the IAF. This week, the Polish Air Force arrived for a joint session
Shai Rosenfeld and Karen Tocatly | Photography: Yonatan Zalk and Shmuel Sinai


"You have excellent combat planes. But the most important aspect is the Israeli Air Force's experience", claimed Commander of the Polish Air Force, General Lech Majewski, in a special interview for the IAF site. "We're very grateful to the IAF for sharing its experience. This is one of the best exercises we've been a part of: We've participated in practices in various countries, but Israel's level is particularly high, with regard to the pilots, the planes and the exercises as well. Although our methods and planes are similar, in every exercise the small details are very important".


Throughout the weeklong joint exercise, polish F-16 squadrons engage in aerial battles against the IAF's enemy simulation squadron, "The Flying Dragon", along with F-15 and F-16 squadrons. The topographical conditions in Poland, similarly to other European countries, don't allow the Polish Air Force to fly in low altitudes and practice freely. The exercise in Israel, on the other hand, allows them a particularly wide range of practice options. The IAF also has much to gain from the cooperation. "We learn from every foreign air force that belongs from NATO and arrives here", explains Deputy Commander of the "Flying Dragon" Squadron, Major Roy. "We study the operational methods in NATO and the international ways of flying, particularly in terms of coordination among planes, international codes and combat doctrines that are based on situations in which not all planes depart from the same country. In fact, we learn about international coordination".

General Majewsky also adds that part of the cooperation's purpose was to learn about the IAF's tactics, the various briefings and debriefings, and about the mentality in general. "I hope that we have additional joint exercises in the future", said Commander of the Polish Air Force. "We invite you to Poland, perhaps even next year".







IAF.org.il

Un excellent reportage sur Kipat Barzel

Citation :

New Anti-Tank Missile Defense Systems Implemented in the Gaza Region


In response to the growing anti-tank missile threats in the Gaza Strip region, Southern Command incorporates two high-tech defense systems

The Southern Command recently combined two new technological systems as a response to the growing anti-tank missile threat in the region. The systems were developed by the Elbit Systems Ltd. Company, enabling early detection and warning as well as redirecting of launched anti-tank missiles.

Elbit Systems is one of the leaders in the security market in Israel and abroad, and a main weapon supplier for the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).

"Due to the anti-tank missile threat in the Southern Command, we've been looking for a means of detecting the missile's launching site. The Gaza Strip region is primary and the need for technology emerged immediately after a children's school bus was hit last year," said Head of the Southern Command Weapon and Technologies Department, Maj. Nissan Mizrachi.

One of the new systems allows for detecting of laser-operated weapons and warns against possible threats. The technology detects the direction of the threat and its type and informs the commander in the field both visually and using audio. Based on the direction and speed the system calculates where the missile will land. The system thus assists, for example a tank, in directing its fire directly towards the threat. The warning provided by the system provides a 360 degree range.

The second newly implemented system, also develop by Elbit Systems also provides the ultimate defense by diverting attacks. The system redirects the missile and its course using several different technologies, ensuring the vehicle carrying the system is not harmed, and provides wide-range defense.

Both systems became operational in the past few months and provides defense against the growing anti-tank missile threat in the Gaza Strip region. Simultaneously, the Southern Command paved a new route safe of anti-tank missile threats, used by communities in the area. The road's unique location in a land fold provides ultimate protection of anti-tank missiles.

defpro

Citation :

Israel Worried Over Syrian Hezbollah Missiles - Haaretz



Syria has supplied Lebanon’s Shiite Hezbollah militia with advanced Russian-made anti-aircraft missile systems and is training operators how to use them, Israel’s Haaretz daily reported citing a high-ranking military source.

The Israeli Defense Force (IDF) is worried that Syrian deliveries of huge quantities of surface-to-air missiles could change the balance of power in the region and jeopardize Israel’s aerial supremacy.

"The potential for escalation in Lebanon is huge, and Hezbollah continues to strengthen with regard to long-range weaponry and potential 'surprises' on the battlefield,” the daily quoted the unnamed IDF source as saying.

The IDF did not specify the exact type of the anti-aircraft weaponry, but Russia’s medium-range Buk M1 and M2 (NATO SA-11 Gadfly/SA-17 Grizzly) could be among the systems in question, the paper said.

The source said Syria has made regular transfers of weapons to Lebanon, which began before the start of the current insurgency against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad last year.

"The more Assad loses his grip, the more the deliveries will increase. We're troubled by the transfer of strategic components from Syria to Lebanon, and if that happens, it might be cause for a more active response,” the source said.

Douglas Barrie, an air warfare analyst at London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies, said the advanced Russian anti-aircraft systems like Buk would require substantial training.

“The provision of a more capable surface-to-air missile system such as Buk (SA-11 Gadfly) - should it have occurred - would mark a significant increase in the potential SAM threat," Barrie told RIA Novosti.

"The system has a maximum engagement range in excess of 30 kilometers. The overall system, however, consists not only of the tracked missile-launch vehicle, but also target acquisition radar and command post vehicles, and as such also brings with it a substantial training requirement,” he added.

At least three Syrian battalions operate the SA-17 Grizzly system and the Israeli Air Force has already altered some of its combat operations “on the northern border for fear of surface-to-air missiles,” Haaretz said citing the IDF.

RIA NOVOSTI