The idea is to use pinpoint ground attack and anti-ship missiles, a growing fleet of modern submarines and cyber and anti-satellite weapons to destroy or disable another nation's military assets from afar.

ECONOMIST: A rare look inside the world??s biggest military expansion

Security experts said it was still too early to pinpoint the source of the attack.

BBC: Flame: Israel rejects link to malware cyber-attack

"The trip wire was knowing an attack was imminent, and also being able to pinpoint his location, " the official said.

BBC: Syria raid 'killed major target'