Report: U.S. installs new radar in Israel

JERUSALEM, Sept. 28 (UPI) -- The United States has installed and is manning an advanced new radar system in Israel, a defense publication says.

The publication Defense News says the high-powered radar system has been set up to assist Israel's defenses against the potential of Iranian ground-to-ground missiles and marks the first permanent U.S. military presence in the country, the Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported Sunday.

The radar, its ancillary systems, equipment and technicians, were brought to Israel by more than a dozen transport aircraft and installed at the Nevatim Air Force Base in the Negev desert, the publication said.

Without naming sources, Haaretz reported the radar system agreement came in July during a Washington visit by Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak and Defense Forces Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenaz.

The newspaper said the radar, assisted by data sent from U.S. satellites, will give Israel more time to respond to a missile launch from Iran, detecting the missiles shortly after they are launched.