In this photo released by Israel Ministry of Defense Spokesperson's Office, the "Ofek 16" reconnaissance satellite blasts off at the Palmachim air base in central Israel Monday, July 6, 2020. The new satellite, which quickly entered orbit, joins a collection of spy satellites that Israel has deployed in recent years. (Israel Ministry of Defense Spokesperson's Office via AP)

Israeli AF

Israel launched an advanced spy satellite this night

itamilradarJuly 6, 20201 Mins read21

This night there were an usual Israeli activity over central Mediterranean Sea: at least two Gulfstream 550 Nachshon Aitam (537 & 569) one Gulfstream G-V Nachshon Shavit (679), one Lockheed C-130J and one Boeing 737 (IAI telemetry) left Israel westbound.

To wrap this thing up, here are some of the Israeli assets in the air for the launch: IAI telemetry, IAF c130, 3 IAF glf5 spyplanes pic.twitter.com/IglkAduROb
— avi scharf (@avischarf) July 6, 2020

At least one of Gulfstream 550 Nachshon Aitam arrived just off Tunisia (around 03:15 CEST).

Another one (679) switched off its ADS-B trasnsponder over Crete

The reason of this activity is the launch of a new advanced Israeli spy satellite Ofek16.

In a statement on Monday, Israel’s Ministry of Defence and Israel Aerospace Industries said “Ofek 16” was shot into space at 4am local time [03:00 CEST].

The “electro-optical reconnaissance satellite with advanced capabilities … will undergo a series of tests,” it added.