Project Nautilus
Peretz to IDF: Develop anti-rocket system
In meeting with Chief of Staff Halutz, defense minister orders army to develop means to shoot down rockets following massive Katyusha attacks during Lebanon war; Peretz also calls on IDF to return to state of alert on eve of fighting in north
Defense Minister Amir Peretz has ordered the IDF Thursday to develop means to shoot down rockets following the massive Katyusha attacks launched by Hizbullah
during the Lebanon
war.
Made in USA
Yitzhak Benhorin
Representatives for leading US defense company tour Israel, offer to complete Nautilus project, which involves the development of laser batteries capable of intercepting and destroying mortars and rockets in the air
He ordered the development of a system that would be able to intercept all types of rockets, saying that the development was key to the army’s activity on all fronts.
During a security assessment meeting with IDF Chief of Staff Dan Halutz, Shin Bet Chief Yuval Diskin and other top security establishemt officials, Peretz also ordered the IDF to return to the state of alert on the eve of the Lebanon war and to take a number of steps related to reserves, logistics, and operational aspects.
A project to build a laser canon to shoot down short-range rockets, known in Israel as Nautilus, was halted in recent years; the system has been proven effective in shooting down Katyushas.
Project Barak for the development of Israeli-made missiles capable of intercepting rockets was also put on hold; the Navy is in possession of some of these rockets (the Navy vessel that was attacked off the Beirut coast during the recent war did not use the missiles.)
Following the war in Lebanon IDF officials have called for a change of priorities and the resumption of the development of anti-rocket systems. The projects were frozen due to their high cost.
