Israel receives first G550 electronic mission aircraft

http://www.janes.com/defence/air_forces/news/jdw/jdw050630_1_n.shtml

By Alon Ben-David JDW Correspondent
Tel Aviv

The Israel Air Force (IAF) took delivery of its first Gulfstream 550 (G550) long-endurance special electronic mission aircraft (SEMA) on 27 June.

Dubbed ‘Nahshon’ in the IAF, the G550 business jet aircraft was modified by Lockheed Martin to meet IAF requirements and will soon be equipped with Israel Aircraft Industries’ (IAI’s) subsidiary Elta Electronics’ EL/I-3001 Airborne Integrated Signal Intelligence system (AISIS), designed to IAF specifications.

The G550s will replace the IAF’s ageing Boeing 707 aircraft in signal intelligence (SIGINT) and AEW configurations.

The contract, estimated at USD473 million, is partly financed by the US government’s foreign military funding (FMF) programme.

“The Nahshon aircraft is a force multiplier, providing us long-range capabilities,” Major General Eliezer Shkedi, IAF Commander in Chief, said at the official reception ceremony. According to Gulfstream, the G550 has a range of 12,501 km.

The EL/I-3001 AISIS is a multi-platform multi-sensor system comprising the aircraft, mission systems and ground support facilities, designed to cope with modern dense non-communication (mostly radars) and communication network environments, and to perform long-range SIGINT missions