In a message to defense and industry leaders gathered at a Jan. 31 conference of the Fisher Institute for Air and Space Strategic Studies, [Israeli Defense Minister Amir] Peretz endorsed so-called "launch on demand" capabilities as a potential answer to future ASAT threats.

Referring to ongoing Israeli concept evaluation studies into the use of aircraft to launch very small satellites into low-Earth orbit, Peretz said, "This type of capability, which allows for rapid launching according to urgent operational needs, could enable us to deal with future, extreme scenarios in which our space assets could become paralyzed by enemy action."

At the same event, Shkedy offered his operational assessment of capabilities once limited to the United States and Russia: "We've recently witnessed a demonstration of ASAT capabilities. And without getting into the reasons or intentions behind this act, we cannot shirk our responsibility to deal with [the ramifications]," he said.

"No doubt, if one suspects he is threatened from space, he will act in the way he does from the ground, sea or air. All these domains become a legitimate playing field for effective warfare," said Israel's top Air Force officer.

He insisted Israel must develop the means not only of maximizing effectiveness in space, but in defending deployed spacecraft against potential future threats.

Moshe Bar-Lev, a former executive of Israel Aerospace Industries, who managed the nation's Ofeq and Amos satellite programs, said local industry already has the ability to defend against blinding lasers and limited forms of spacecraft interference. He declined to provide specifics of existing technologies, yet indicated that such passive defensive measures could be deployed in the near term for what he termed "minimal investment."

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Opall-Rome, Barbara. "Israel Wary of China ASAT Test." Defense News. February 6, 2007.