[Ha'aretz] Anshel Pfeffer - The biennial Juniper Cobra exercise this week, aimed at improving coordination between American and Israeli missile defense systems, was the largest joint Israeli-American military exercise in history. "This is the first time we've deployed all these systems, the THAAD missile, the Aegis system and the X-band radar all together against threat scenarios," U.S. Col. Tony English said this week. The U.S. X-band radar system - the first and only permanent deployment of U.S. troops in Israel - has tripled Israel's ability to detect missiles fired from Iran. Relations between the countries' armed forces have never been closer. IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi says he speaks with the Chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, Adm. Michael Mullen, at least once a week. Officially, Israel has no involvement in the fighting in Afghanistan. But the newly purchased Israel Aerospace Industries Heron unmanned aerial vehicles by the German Luftwaffe will join similar Israeli-designed drones used there by Canada, Spain and the U.S., while on the ground will be combat vehicles covered in armor plating designed at Kibbutz Sasa. In addition, many of the forces facing threats from suicide bombers and improvised explosive devices (IEDs) operate according to doctrines adapted from those developed by the IDF when facing Hizbullah and armed Palestinians.
2009-10-30 06:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive