|
Trending Topics
|
Source: https://www.ynetnews.com/article/rym2cxitzx
How the IDF's Defense Concept Changed after Oct. 7
(Ynet News) Elisha Ben Kimon - The painful lessons of the Oct. 7 attacks have led to a comprehensive shift in thinking across the IDF. Under the current operational doctrine, air, naval and ground forces are viewed as full partners in the mission of defending Israel's borders. In an intensive series of exercises conducted recently, IDF forces practiced extreme scenarios involving multiple simultaneous fronts. These scenarios included large-scale ground raids, maritime infiltrations using jet skis and unmanned vessels, heavy indirect fire, and threats from UAVs. The principal scenario guiding division commanders is based on full readiness to provide an immediate response in the event of a large-scale surprise, with particular attention paid to close protection of civilian areas. At the heart of the Air Force's new doctrine is actively employing critical air power from the first hour of an unfolding event. A framework has been established to allow the Air Force to act immediately to halt an invasion and "freeze the situation." The use of heavy fire to disrupt an attack, the rapid arrival of a critical mass of aircraft and a dramatic shortening of response times are now central elements of this response. The modern defense doctrine also calls for pushing threats farther away from population centers and creating a forward security zone inside enemy territory. The IDF says it can no longer accept a reality in which enemy forces or thousands of terrorists are entrenched within a short drive of Israeli civilians and communities.