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Israel announces successful launch of new spy satellite

YB WEB DESK. Dated: 7/8/2020 2:21:37 PM

Jerusalem, July 7 Israel's Defence Ministry announced the successful launch of a new spy satellite early on Monday, giving the country what officials said was an additional tool in keeping tabs on its many threats across the region. The “Ofek 16” joins a fleet of Israeli spy satellites that have been launched over the past two decades. While officials did not identify specific threats, arch-enemy Iran, which Israel accuses of trying to develop nuclear weapons, is first among them. “All the group of satellites are being used to monitor any threats on the state of Israel, which as you know are sometimes far away and immediate so they require constant monitoring,” said Amnon Harari, the head of the ministry's Space and Satellite Administration. Israel does not confirm how many satellites are operational, but Harari mentioned at least two others, the Ofek-5, launched in 2002, and the Ofek-11, launched in 2016. “You can assume that once you have more than one satellite in parallel in the sky, you achieve better visit times over the targets of interest," he said. The satellite was developed by the ministry along with the state-owned Israel Aerospace Industries. The ministry said Ofek-16 was launched at 4 a.m. from the Palmachim air base in central Israel into space.