Representatives from the U.S. and Israeli Air Forces met last month to discuss a remarkable development: what the Israel Defense Forces described as “updated orders for the cooperation between the two nations’ air-defense systems during emergency situations.”
The Israeli delegation was led by Brig. Gen. Gilad Biran, commander of the IAF’s Air Defense System, and the American delegation was led by Brig. Gen. Greg Brady, commander of the 10th Army Air and Missile Defense Command, which is based in Germany.
“The purpose of the meeting was to improve the collaborative readiness of the forces for the joint defense of the State of Israel,” said the IDF. “At the end of the meeting, a document for updated air-defense operational cooperation between the two countries was signed.”
According to Charles B. Perkins, director for U.S.-Israel Security Policy at the Jewish Institute for National Security of America (JINSA), while the two militaries have a long record of cooperation and coordination in joint exercises and air-missile defense planning, “this new agreement and the decision to publicly disclose it take place within the context of some significant recent trends.”
Perkins pointed out that the May conflict between Israel and Hamas, dubbed by the IDF as “Operation Guardian of the Walls,” and the performance of the Iron Dome air-defense system against Gazan rocket salvoes “has certainly garnered some attention within the U.S. Army’s air-defense community.”
Iron Dome maintained an interception rate of approximately 90 percent during the conflict, according to an IDF assessment.
In addition, Perkins said, the issue of counter-drone technology is becoming ever-more relevant.
Read more at JNS
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