IDF reservists regularly training on Arrow anti-missile system
Based on a decision made late last year, the Israeli Air Force has stepped up the training regimen for reservists assigned to operate the Arrow and Patriot anti-missile defense systems. Usually, only pilots are called up as often as one day a week to keep their skills sharp, but now the missile defense crews have been called up one day a week as well, amid growing fears that a war with Iran and its proxy militias Hamas in Gaza and Hizbullah in Lebanon will break out in the near future. "We need to retain a high operational level by everyone, including reservists," said a top IAF officer. He added that the reserve soldiers are training “to simulate different scenarios," including the coordinated firing of large numbers of different kinds of missiles from different countries, missile attacks from aircraft and sea-launched missiles, individual missiles fired from one place at a time and barrages fired from one or another country. The soldiers and equipment designated to defend against these attacks must be able to make split second decisions about which missiles present the biggest threat and at what stage of the missiles flight it would be best to shoot it down. The IAF is scheduled to hold a large joint exercise with the US military later this year to test a wide variety of new anti-missile technology options and the readiness of Israel’s system. Meanwhile, Jane’s reported in December 2008 that Iran nearly tripled it’s arsenal of Shihab-3 missiles last year. With an operational range of 1,800 kilometers and the ability to deliver warheads containing non-conventional munitions, the missiles are a big worry for Israeli planners. In related news, the French journal L’Express reported on Sunday that IAF planes had conducted a drill over the Strait of Gibraltar, over 3,000 km from Israel, in possible preparation for a pre-emptive strike on Iranian nuclear facilities.
ICEJ News
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Based on a decision made late last year, the Israeli Air Force has stepped up the training regimen for reservists assigned to operate the Arrow and Patriot anti-missile defense systems. Usually, only pilots are called up as often as one day a week to keep their skills sharp, but now the missile defense crews have been called up one day a week as well, amid growing fears that a war with Iran and its proxy militias Hamas in Gaza and Hizbullah in Lebanon will break out in the near future. "We need to retain a high operational level by everyone, including reservists," said a top IAF officer. He added that the reserve soldiers are training “to simulate different scenarios," including the coordinated firing of large numbers of different kinds of missiles from different countries, missile attacks from aircraft and sea-launched missiles, individual missiles fired from one place at a time and barrages fired from one or another country. The soldiers and equipment designated to defend against these attacks must be able to make split second decisions about which missiles present the biggest threat and at what stage of the missiles flight it would be best to shoot it down. The IAF is scheduled to hold a large joint exercise with the US military later this year to test a wide variety of new anti-missile technology options and the readiness of Israel’s system. Meanwhile, Jane’s reported in December 2008 that Iran nearly tripled it’s arsenal of Shihab-3 missiles last year. With an operational range of 1,800 kilometers and the ability to deliver warheads containing non-conventional munitions, the missiles are a big worry for Israeli planners. In related news, the French journal L’Express reported on Sunday that IAF planes had conducted a drill over the Strait of Gibraltar, over 3,000 km from Israel, in possible preparation for a pre-emptive strike on Iranian nuclear facilities.