The Israeli Ministry of Defense announced the successful launch of a new spy satellite early yesterday, 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 spy satellites that have been launched over the past two decades.
“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.
Photo: Reuters / Israeli Ministry of Defense Spokesperson’s Office
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 ministry said Ofek 16 was launched at 4am from the Palmachim Air Force Base in central Israel into space.
The ministry described the Ofek as an “electro-optical reconnaissance satellite with advanced capabilities.”
The satellite was developed by the ministry along with state-owned Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI).
Shlomi Sudri, the general manager of IAI’s space division, said the Ofek was in orbit and sending “healthy signals” to a ground station. He said he expected it to begin transmitting photographs in about a week.
Israeli Minister of Defense Benny Gantz called yesterday’s launch an “extraordinary achievement.”
“Technological superiority and intelligence capabilities are essential to the security of the state of Israel,” he said.
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