First exercise since June 2016.
Via JPost:
With tensions high on both the northern and southern fronts, US troops are in Israel and have deployed anti-missile defense systems across the country ahead of the biennial Juniper Cobra military exercise.
The large-scale, five-day drill will simulate a massive missile attack on the Israel from both fronts and will be led by the Israel Air Force, the IDF confirmed to The Jerusalem Post on Sunday.
“Such exercises are part of a long-term strategy and part of the ongoing cooperation between the IDF and the US military,” read the statement by the IDF’s Spokesperson’s Unit.
The joint exercise with the US Army European Command (EUCOM) is aimed at strengthening military cooperation against regional threats and promoting long-term security for Israel.
The last Juniper Cobra exercise in June 2016 saw more than 3,000 American troops taking part in what is considered the flagship exercise of the IAF Aerial Defense Division.
While the IDF said the drill, which has occurred every two years since 2001, is part of the annual training to maintain the readiness of troops, it comes amid a war of words with Hezbollah, which is thought to have an arsenal of between 100,000 and 150,000 missiles.
On Wednesday, Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman warned that should war erupt on the northern border with Hezbollah, Beirut would “pay the full price,” as the Lebanese army and Hezbollah “are one in the same.”
“We won’t allow pictures like those in 2006 where citizens in Beirut were on the beach while Israelis in Tel Aviv sat in shelters. If people are in shelters in Tel Aviv, all of Beirut will be in shelters,” Liberman stated at the 11th annual Institute for National Security Studies (INSS) conference in Tel Aviv.