May 2, 2012: Israel is upgrading the long range cameras it uses with its Patriot anti-aircraft missile systems. The Patriot was designed to use a long range radar to detect aircraft and help guide the missiles to their targets. But Israel has added long range digital cameras to their Patriot systems, to confirm that an incoming aircraft is hostile. Israeli airspace is crowded with a lot of commercial air traffic and Patriot batteries use cameras to double check, especially in peacetime, that a suspected attacker is actually a hostile aircraft (either manned or a UAV). The new cameras have higher resolution, better zoom, and other features. The cameras also record what they see, in case there is any doubt about what was attacked.