Israel and US conduct joint training on air defenses

The US and Israel conducted joint training focusing on missile and air defense systems, the Defense Ministry said on Thursday.

During the joint exercise, the Israeli side activated all of the multi-layered defense systems that Israel uses. These included the Iron Dome, David’s Sling, and Arrow.

The American forces activated the Patriot, AEGIS, and THAAD weapon systems, the statement from the Ministry said

Together these systems represent some of the world’s most advanced air defense systems and systems that are proven. Israel has used the Iron Dome for more than a decade to defend against thousands of rockets.

Arrow, which is for exoatmospheric ballistic missile long-range threats, has been sold to Germany. David’s sling has been acquired by Finland.

Relevance of air defences rises

These recent deals show how the systems, jointly developed with the US, are increasingly relevant for Europe in the wake of the Ukraine-Russia War.

The ministry said that the “joint training, which is part of the ongoing cooperation between the armies, is aimed at improving the level of competence of the fighters and increasing the coordination between the forces.”

In recent weeks, the Defense Ministry’s Defense Directorate, the American Missile Defense Agency (MDA), the air defense system of the Israel Air Force and the American Missile Defense Task Force held a joint training session to deal with missile barrages on Israel, Israel said.

The training took place in the combat laboratory, ITB (Israeli Test Bed) of Elbit Systems, the Ministry noted. This allowed for “simulating in one unique facility all the Israeli and American defense systems and also presents real-time data that helps in a comprehensive investigation of the training and in accordance with the updating of the systems’ operating procedures.”

The Israeli Test-Bed (ITB) battle lab was developed by Elisra (a subsidiary of Elbit Systems). The ITB can simulate both Israeli and American air defense systems and can display and record real-time data to assist in debriefings.

In a video from the Ministry, Oren Sebag, the head of Elbit ISTAR and EW systems, praised the joint training and its role in strengthening air defense capabilities.

This is an important joint training and represents the increasing tempo of joint training with the US in general. There have been a number of important drills with US CENTCOM in the last year and Israel has also done other joint trainings with Greece, Cyprus, and other states.

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