Israeli Army Develops ‘Tammuz-4’ Missile with Electro-Optical Sensors

Streaks of light are seen from Ashkelon as Israel's Iron Dome anti-missile system intercepts rockets (Reuters)
Streaks of light are seen from Ashkelon as Israel's Iron Dome anti-missile system intercepts rockets (Reuters)
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Israeli Army Develops ‘Tammuz-4’ Missile with Electro-Optical Sensors

Streaks of light are seen from Ashkelon as Israel's Iron Dome anti-missile system intercepts rockets (Reuters)
Streaks of light are seen from Ashkelon as Israel's Iron Dome anti-missile system intercepts rockets (Reuters)

Israel's Rafael defense contractor, will unveil during the Eurosatory defense expo in Paris the sixth-generation missile "Tammuz-4," equipped with electro-optical sensors.

The company spokesman said the missile could be launched in a salvo of up to four missiles and an extended range of 50 kilometers when launched by helicopter.

The missile has a 32-kilometer range when launched from a ground-based system.

A single operator can launch up to four missiles at once, which "significantly increases the gamut of long-range targets that can be hit, and thereby strengthens the element of surprise," the company said.

The missile also has the feature of what the company called a "hand over" mode, where the rocket can be launched by one system and then controlled by another seamlessly.

"With the help of images provided by various electro-optical sensors, the missile locates the target on its own, marks it, and helps the operator neutralize it more accurately and simply," the company said.

The new features are helpful when attempting to hit a specific target among similar targets in the same area.

The first version of the missile became operational 40 years ago and is used in 39 countries.

Israel does not explicitly say that it is developing this missile for its war with Iran and its militias.

The general manager of Rafael's Land and Naval Division, Ran Gozali, said the new missile's development addresses the Israeli army's unique challenges in its next war, which will take place over long distances.

Head of the Precision Tactical Weapons Systems Division Zvi Marmor said this missile began developing after the war in October 1973, and the fourth version of it has now been invented in light of the changing challenges.

Marmor confirmed that the new missile would be displayed for the first time next week at the Eurosatory expo.



NATO Command in Germany to Assist Ukraine Is up and Running, Says Rutte

NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte holds a press conference, ahead of a meeting of NATO Defense Ministers in Brussels, Belgium October 16, 2024. (Reuters)
NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte holds a press conference, ahead of a meeting of NATO Defense Ministers in Brussels, Belgium October 16, 2024. (Reuters)
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NATO Command in Germany to Assist Ukraine Is up and Running, Says Rutte

NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte holds a press conference, ahead of a meeting of NATO Defense Ministers in Brussels, Belgium October 16, 2024. (Reuters)
NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte holds a press conference, ahead of a meeting of NATO Defense Ministers in Brussels, Belgium October 16, 2024. (Reuters)

A new NATO command in the German city of Wiesbaden has taken up its work to coordinate Western military aid for Ukraine, the alliance's Secretary-General Mark Rutte said on Wednesday.

The command takes over coordination of the aid from the United States, in a move widely seen as aiming to safeguard the support mechanism against NATO sceptic US President-elect Donald Trump.

"The NATO command in Wiesbaden for security assistance and training for Ukraine is now up and running", Rutte told reporters at NATO's headquarters in Brussels.

Trump, who will take office in January, has said he wants to end the war in Ukraine swiftly without elaborating how he aims to do so. He has long criticized the scale of US financial and military aid to Ukraine.

The headquarters of NATO's new Ukraine mission, dubbed NATO Security Assistance and Training for Ukraine (NSATU), is located at Clay Barracks, a US base in the German town of Wiesbaden.

The US-led Ramstein group of around 50 nations, an ad hoc coalition named after a US air base in Germany where it first met, has coordinated Western military supplies to Kyiv since 2022.

It will continue to exist as a political forum as NSATU assumes the military implementation of decisions taken there.

Diplomats, however, acknowledge that the handover to NATO may have a limited effect given that the United States under Trump could still deal a major setback to Ukraine by slashing its support, as it is the alliance's dominant power and provides the majority of arms to Kyiv.

NSATU is set to have around 700 personnel, including troops stationed at NATO's military headquarters SHAPE in Belgium and at logistics hubs in Poland and Romania.

Russia has condemned increases in Western military aid to Ukraine as risking a wider war.