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Israel to fly huge reconnaissance balloon on Lebanon borders

November 3, 2021 at 2:42 pm

An Israeli observation balloon flies past a Hezbollah flag above the Abbad area on the Lebanese-Israeli border [JOSEPH BARRAK/AFP via Getty Images]

Israel is preparing to launch a huge missile-detecting and reconnaissance balloon to tackle threats on its northern borders with Lebanon, according to the country’s defence ministry, on Wednesday.

A ministry statement described the balloon as the largest in the world, which will provide additional early warning capabilities against aerial and ground threats.

“It will provide additional detection and early warning capabilities to the existing operational air defence detection array deployed around Israel,” the ministry said.

Israel, Lebanon tensions at the border - Cartoon [Latuff/MiddleEastMonitor]

Israel, Lebanon tensions at the border – Cartoon [Latuff/MiddleEastMonitor]

The statement said the balloon will be deployed at a high altitude to detect incoming missiles’ threats.

The location where the balloon will be flown, however, was not identified.

According to the statement, the aerostat was developed in cooperation between the Israel Missile Defence Organisation and the US Missile Defence Agency.

Israeli Air Force chief, Amikam Norkin, said the balloon will “enable us to build a more accurate and broader air surveillance picture.”

Israel possesses a variety of short, medium- and long-range air defence systems, including the Iron Dome, designed to shoot down short-range rockets and drones; the Arrow system, which intercepts ballistic missiles outside of the Earth’s atmosphere and the David’s Sling missile defence system that is designed to intercept tactical ballistic missiles.

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