The Israeli forces and US military conducted a joint exercise this week of the X-Band radar deployed in southern Israel to check its interoperability with Israeli early-warning systems, local daily The Jerusalem Post reported Friday.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and the US Military's European Command (EUCOM) carried out the drill to test the radar deployed in the Negev near the Nevatim Air Force Base, which is reportedly capable of tracking small targets from thousands of kilometers away.

The drill was conducted at EUCOM headquarters in Stuttgart, Germany, said the report, adding that a similar drill took place last week, also in Germany.

The drill was held in Germany since the X-Band radar in southern Israel is under EUCOM's command and is controlled by US soldiers, according to the report.

Israel received the advanced X-Band radar last October as a farewell gift from the Bush administration to beef up its defenses in face of Iran's nuclear program and enhance ballistic missile capability.

According to a defense official involved in the drill, when operated in coordination with additional Israeli warning systems, the X-Band radar enables the IDF Home Front Command to issue an alert about an incoming missile between five and seven minutes before impact.

The total flight time of a missile from Iran to Israel would be approximately 10 minutes. In comparison, the residents of Sderot in southern Israel usually have up to 15 seconds to seek shelter from when they hear a siren and before a Qassam rocket strikes the city.

Meanwhile, the IDF and the United States are scheduled to hold a joint missile defense exercise in October.

(Xinhua News Agency July 24, 2009)