January
12, 2007: Israel has come up with a unique anti-missile system. It's a large
(110 foot wingspan) UAV equipped with a radar and missiles. Flying at very high
altitude, the radar can spot ballistic missiles being launched by, say, Syria,
or Hizbollah in Lebanon, and fire a missile that would destroy the ballistic
missile as it was still climbing. Ballistic missiles are most vulnerable right
after launch, when they require several minutes to reach a very high altitude,
after which the warhead turns towards the earth, and returns at very high speed
(10,000 kilometers an hour, or faster). The Eitan system is still undergoing
development and testing. But, in theory, there's no reason why it should not
work.