Defense Minister Israel Katz said on Wednesday that the newly launched Ofek 19 satellite will allow the country to “keep an eye on our enemies at all times.”
In his statement, Katz warned, “This is also a message to all our enemies, wherever they may be: we are keeping an eye on you at all times and in every situation.”
He added a message to the region: “Come collaborate with these capabilities for a better shared future for all of us.”
Katz also congratulated those who worked on the launch, calling it an “achievement of the highest level that few countries in the world can accomplish.”
“I salute the aerospace industry, the Defense Ministry, the IDF, and everyone who took part in the development,” the statement added.
This is the second launch of an Ofek series satellite by Israel, following the previous one, Ofek 13, which became operational in March 2023.
What are Ofek 19's capabilities?
The Ofek 13 satellite was crucial during Israel’s war with Iran, with the defense ministry explaining how it managed to take almost 12,000 satellite images of Iranian territory.
This allowed Israel to have almost a real-time view of what was happening in Iran, shortening reaction time for missile launch detection and guiding airstrike operations done over the Islamic Republic’s approximately 1.6 million square kilometers of territory.
Before Ofek 13, Israel launched Ofek 16 in July 2020, marking the continuation of this series of satellites, a project that began in 1988. All current launches were made with the Israeli-developed Shavit 2 satellite launcher.
Yonah Jeremy Bob contributed to this report.