Protecting the underwater gas

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The  real thing has begun a few days ago when the natural gas started to flow from the sea rig off the Israeli shore to the land.

The main mission of protecting this valuable natural resource is on the shoulders of the Israeli Navy and Airforce.

While the Navy is still trying to get the needed equipment for this special job the Israeli Airforce (IAF) is performing the job using some types of platforms.

Natural gas from the Tamar under sea reservoir began to flow from the offshore rig into Israel last week.

The IAF is operating a variety of systems to protect this new potential target from terror organizations and armies.

The Tamar production platform reaches a height of about 290 meters, and its weight – including the rig’s legs – amounts to some 34,000 tons.

The Tamar production rig is located approximately 90 kilometers west of Haifa . A 150-kilometer-long pipeline of approximately 45 centimeters in diameter connects the rig to the Ashdod reception facility.

While the Israeli Navy is responsible for the protection of the gas facilities, the IAF is performing the missions that are aimed at detecting any sign for a hostile action targeting the rig and related facilities.

Unmanned air systems (UAS) are playing a major role in this operation

With the Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) Heron -1 (Shoval) in maritime patrol missions patrolling the area, Navy personnel are operating the control station of this system on shore.

It is expected that the number of Heron-1 in maritime patrol missions will grow and in parallel, other platforms will join to enhance capabilities.

In recent months a special effort was made to improve the dedicated sensors carried by the UAS. These are currently special versions of the Elta maritime radar and optical sensors. The source said that other sensors will be needed like SAR radars and GMTI radars.

Elta , the IAI subsidiary has developed a SAR/GMTI radar system .The light version dubbed ELM-2055 can be carried by the Heron-1 UAS.

The IAF effort will also involve it’s Eurocopter AS 565 SA (Atalef) helicopters. These are being operated jointly with the Navy from aboard its SAAR-5 missile corvettes.

To improve the integration of these helicopters with other platforms in the mission of protecting the gas facilities the IAF will equip them with a new very advanced helmet mounted system (HMS).

The HMS will facilitate the integration of the Atalef that are deployed on the Israeli navy’s SAAR 5 missile corvettes, with the Heron-1 unmanned air system (UAS) maritime version.

This integration will facilitate the performance of the mission.

The selection of the systems is expected soon after tests are completed in various flight conditions.