"Defense News" reports in its latest issue that the IDF general staff recommended in late June to transfer tens of millions of dollars from its military satellite development program to other programs deemed more urgent, including armor for vehicles, attack helicopters, and command and control systems. The Ministry of Defense will implement the recommendation.
The decision affects the Ofeq-6 remote sensing satellite, which was to launch by 2005, to replace the electro-optical Ofeq 5 satellite, launched in 2002; TecSAR, a synthetic aperture radar technical demonstrator planned for completion by 2006; and Milcom-1, a secure, encrypted geostationary communications satellite planned for launch in 2007.
Ministry of Defense and defense industry sources said the funding cut for Ofeq 6 would also affect the next-generation Ofeq 7 satellite, which the Ministry of Defense had hoped to build by 2008. Israel Aircraft Industries' Mabat division will develop and build the Ofeq satellites, as well as TecSAR and Milcom-1, provided the necessary funding is assured.
Israeli government sources declined to provide details, but defense industry sources told "Defense News" that the deep cut in the Ministry of Defense's domestic R&D budget had put an end to most of Israel's satellite programs.
Published by Globes [online] - www.globes.co.il - on July 20, 2004