The Israeli air force says it has achieved a record sensor-to-shooter time during its missions flown as part its "Pillar of Defense" operation against Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip.
Most of the missions have been mounted against the Hamas squads that operate the launchers for rockets that have been aimed at Israeli cities and towns.
Many of the launchers have been hidden in positions that have been dug in the ground, with launch teams arriving by car or on motorcycles, before firing them and dispersing. In spite of the short time elapsed between the arrival of the squad and a rocket launch, the sensors that are covering the Gaza Strip enabled an immediate response with missiles and bombs.
In some of the attacks only "a few seconds" passed between the launch of a rocket and a counter-attack, which the air force say in most cases killed the whole launching squad.
The air force has not elaborated on the sensors that it is using to achieve such short reaction times, but Palestinian sources say unmanned air systems are playing a major role. Israel has increased its use of such equipment over the conflict area since hostilities increased on 14 November.
Source: Flight International
