The US commitment to Israel on missile defense is “robust, enduring, and unshakeable,” said Frank Rose, deputy assistant secretary of state for arms control. In the face of missile and rocket threats to Israel posed by Iran, Syria, Hezbollah, and Hamas, the United States is cooperating with the Middle East ally on a number of defensive initiatives, said Rose Monday at a missile defense conference in Tel Aviv. This cooperation includes continued maturation of the new Arrow 3 interceptor for the Arrow anti-missile system, he said. It also entails work on the “David’s Sling” system to counter short-range rockets and missiles that fall below Arrow’s engagement envelope. The United States also is funding the fielding of Israel’s Iron Dome systems to shoot down shorter range ballistic threats, said Rose. Since 2001, the two nations have staged the joint biennial Juniper Cobra missile defense exercise, he noted. (Rose speech)
U.S. Air Force F-35s and F-22s regularly deploy deep into the Pacific region from Alaska, Utah, and Hawaii. In the future, though, the head of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command would like to see the Air Force permanently station fifth-generation aircraft west of the international date line—closer to China.