Get the latest tech news

U.S. Military Was Caught Off Guard by Israeli Strike on Qatar

Israel's novel use of air-launched ballistic missiles to attack Qatar from the west clearly had an impact on the ability to classify the threat and defend against it. Highly advanced U.S. and Qatari air defense systems and sensors were unaware of the Israeli airstrike on a Hamas compound in Doha, Qatar, until it was too late.

ALBMs available to the IAF include an air-launched version of the Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) LORA(Long Range Artillery), a short-range ballistic missile originally developed for surface launch. According to White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt, U.S. President Donald Trump “was informed of the impending strike by his military and alerted Qatar’s leadership,” although the timeline for this remains unclear. Gen. France also said he wasn’t concerned about future U.S. military access to Qatar following Israel’s airstrike on Doha, although he admitted that “there certainly is some tension as a result of that, in my mind, goes to the importance of developing relationships and having presence that matters.”

Get the Android app