GCIS INTELLIGENCE BRIEFING: Israel unveils Iron Dome anti-rocket defense system

ISSUED BY: GCIS Communications Command Center

SOURCE: Homeland Security News Wire

29March2011 4:02amEST

GCIS INTELLIGENCE UPDATE: Israel on Sunday stationed the first batteries of its Iron Dome short-range missile defense system in the south of the country;

The military stressed the initial deployment was experimental; after being deployed in the south, the system will then be deployed along the Lebanese border, from where Hezbollah militants fired some 4,000 rockets into northern Israel during a 2006 war;

The most obvious and immediate benefit of the defensive system would be the de-fanging of the two more radical groups in the region, Hezbollah and Hamas;

The system, though, is more significant in what it will allow Israel to do vis-à-vis the Palestinians: if the same rockets Hamas is firing at Israel from the Gaza Strip were to be fired from the West Bank, all of Israel's population and economic centers will be under threat;

If Iron Dome proved effective, it would make it easier for Israel to consider deep withdrawals from the West Bank, thus allowing the establishment of a viable Palestinian state without compromising Israeli security. (read full report)

"GCIS INTELLIGENCE UPDATE" is an intelligence briefing presented by Griffith Colson Intelligence Service, and provided to the public for informative purposes only. All subject matter is credited to it's source of origin, and is not intended to represent original content authored by GCIS, it's partners or affiliates. All opinions presented are those of the author, and not necessarily those of GCIS or it's partners.

GCIS INTELLIGENCE BRIEFING: 3 men accused of military-grade-weapons plot

ISSUED BY: GCIS Communications Command Center

SOURCE: AZ Central

21March2011 7:00amEST

GCIS INTELLIGENCE UPDATE: At least three people who allegedly worked for a Mexican drug cartel face charges of plotting to buy a Stinger Missile, anti-tank rockets and other military firepower, according to federal court papers unsealed Friday in Phoenix.

"The object of the conspiracy was to obtain and possess military-grade weaponry, and then to export that weaponry to the Republic of Mexico and supply that weaponry to a Mexican drug trafficking organization," says an indictment in U.S. District Court.

The defendants – David Diaz-Sosa, Jorge De Jesus-Casteneda and Emilia Palomina-Robles – were indicted by a grand jury on multiple conspiracy counts involving drugs and weapons.

The indictment says Diaz-Sosa began communicating with a government informant and undercover agents in November 2009, claiming he represented a cartel middleman identified only as "Enrique."

According to other prosecution filings, Diaz-Sosa told an informer that he oversaw monthly narcotics shipments from Nogales, Sonora, to Virginia, and worked on behalf of the Sinaloa Cartel. (read full report)

"GCIS INTELLIGENCE UPDATE" is an intelligence briefing presented by Griffith Colson Intelligence Service, and provided to the public for informative purposes only. All subject matter is credited to it's source of origin, and is not intended to represent original content authored by GCIS, it's partners or affiliates. All opinions presented are those of the author, and not necessarily those of GCIS or it's partners.

GCIS/MSS INTELLIGENCE BRIEFING: Israel: new weapon downed Gaza anti-tank rocket

ISSUED BY: GCIS Communications Command Center

SOURCE: Federal News Radio

01March2011 7:58pmEST

GCIS/MSS INTELLIGENCE UPDATE: JERUSALEM (AP) – A new Israeli weapons system knocked down a Palestinian anti-tank rocket in its first combat test Tuesday, the military said, showing off technology that could protect the heavy vehicles that have been the mainstay of the world's ground forces for decades.

Palestinian militants said they fired a rocket-propelled grenade at an Israeli tank as it patrolled near the Gaza-Israel border, a frequent occurrence. This time, the "Trophy" system sensed the incoming rocket and fired its own projectile, blowing it up away from the tank, the military said.

Trophy is thought to be the only active defense system of its kind in the world. Up till now, tanks have relied on heavier and thicker armor plating to protect against more powerful anti-tank weapons.

Experts say the active defense concept, if it works consistently, could allow the construction of smaller, lighter and more efficient tanks.

The Israeli military did not make pictures or video of the Tuesday encounter available to the media, instead issuing a short statement. It said a tank came under fire while on routine patrol, and "for the first time during operational activity, the Trophy system, … designed to actively protect against anti-tank missiles, identified, alerted and intercepted the (anti-tank rocket)."

(read full report)

"GCIS/MSS INTELLIGENCE UPDATE" is a cooperative intelligence briefing presented by Griffith Colson Intelligence Service and Machaseh Security Service, and provided to the public for informative purposes only. All subject matter is credited to it's source of origin, and is not intended to represent original content authored by GCIS, MSS or it's partners or affiliates.

GCIS/MSS INTELLIGENCE BRIEFING: Hamas Iran-made missiles hit Beersheba as Iranian warships dock in Syria

ISSUED BY: GCIS Communications Command Center

SOURCE: DEBKAfile

24February2011 10:32amEST

GCIS/MSS INTELLIGENCE UPDATE: Israel's security leaders ought not to have been surprised when Hamas fired two long-range Iranian-made Grad missiles Wednesday night, Feb. 23 at the Negev cities of Beersheba and Netivot. The attack occurred exactly when Iranian Navy commander Adm. Habibollah Sayyari was due in Syria's Latakia port to attend the welcoming party for the two Iranian warships which made it through the Suez Canal without US or Israeli interference. It also marked a fresh, redoubled Hamas offensive against Israel.

The occupants of the Beersheba home, hit by the first long-range Grad surface missile to reach the Negev city from the Gaza Strip (30 km away) since Israel's Cast Led campaign of 2009, saved themselves by using the seconds between the warning siren and the explosion to take shelter in a bomb-proof room. That was the only part of their home to survive the blast. Eleven shock victims were hospitalized along the battered street.

The town of Netivot  was spared by the Grad falling outside the built-up area.

Earlier that day, a shoot-out flared at the Karni crossing when a Palestinian gang laid explosives at the border fence and followed up with mortar fire. IDF border patrols and tanks crews returned the fire, injuring 11 Palestinians. A second round of Palestinian mortar fire followed against a Shaar Hanegev kibbutz.

No Israelis were hurt in this round of incidents.

Wednesday night, Israel put the communities within range of the Gaza Strip, including the cities of Beersheba, Netivot, Ofakim, Sderot, Ashkelon and Ashdod, on heightened alert status for further Palestinian attacks. That night, Israeli air strikes hit a Jihad Islami missile team and then spread out to bomb Hamas command centers, which had meanwhile been hurriedly evacuated in expectation of Israel's routine aerial reprisal. (read full report)

"GCIS/MSS INTELLIGENCE UPDATE" is a cooperative intelligence briefing presented by Griffith Colson Intelligence Service and Machaseh Security Service, and provided to the public for informative purposes only. All subject matter is credited to it's source of origin, and is not intended to represent original content authored by GCIS, MSS or it's partners or affiliates.

GCIS/MSS INTELLIGENCE BRIEFING: Arrow Test Hits Target, Validates New Software

ISSUED BY: GCIS Communications Command Center

SOURCE: Defense News

23February2011 7:15pmEST

GCIS/MSS INTELLIGENCE UPDATE: TEL AVIV – The U.S.-Israel Arrow program passed another milestone Feb. 22 with the spectacular, nighttime, head-on intercept of a sea-based, long-range target off the California coast.

Part of the ongoing, jointly funded Arrow System Improvement Program (ASIP), the test validated new Block 4 versions designed to improve discriminating capabilities of the Arrow 2 interceptor, the Green Pine search-and-track radar and the Citron Tree battle management control system.

"To see that explosion off the shores of California was truly gratifying. It was a body-to-body impact that completely destroyed the target," Arieh Herzog, director of the Israel Missile Defense Organization told reporters via teleconference shortly after the nighttime launch at the U.S. Navy's Point Mugu Sea Range.

Herzog said validation of the Block 4 software would provide the Israel Air Force "with a better system than they have now." The software upgrades, he said, improve detection capabilities and lethality needed to defend against "new and different threats." (read full report)

"GCIS/MSS INTELLIGENCE UPDATE" is a cooperative intelligence briefing presented by Griffith Colson Intelligence Service and Machaseh Security Service, and provided to the public for informative purposes only. All subject matter is credited to it's source of origin, and is not intended to represent original content authored by GCIS, MSS or it's partners or affiliates.