Israel Launches New Intelligence Satellite "To Monitor Iran's Nuclear and Missile Development"

[Asia Economy Reporter Mun Jiwon] Israel launched a new reconnaissance satellite on the 6th (local time).

According to Israeli media such as The Times of Israel, the Israeli Ministry of Defense announced that "the Ministry of Defense and Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) successfully launched the reconnaissance satellite 'Ofek-16' into space" and "the satellite has entered orbit."

Ofek-16 was launched around 4 a.m. from the Palmachim Airbase in central Israel.

This is the first time in about four years since the launch of Ofek-11 in September 2016 that Israel has launched a reconnaissance satellite.

Ofek-16 is known to have superior performance compared to the previous Ofek series reconnaissance satellites launched by Israel.

Israel is an ally of the United States and has strained relations with Iran, the leading Islamic Shia power.

Regarding the launch, The Times of Israel explained that "the main function of the new reconnaissance satellite appears to be monitoring Iran's nuclear and missile program development."