The Israeli defence ministry has approved development of a synthetic aperture radar (SAR)-equipped intelligence satellite. The project will be partly funded by an unidentified country, which in return will receive SAR intelligence.
A senior defence ministry source says: "Such a satellite will complete our intelligence-gathering capabilities. We need it and we have the technology." Israel's space-based surveillance system includes the Offeq-5 satellite and the Eros 1 Earth-imaging craft.
The SAR satellite will be built by Israel Aircraft Industries' (IAI) MBT division and the payload will be provided by IAI's Elta subsidiary.
Source: Flight International
