IDF Artillery Challenges 'Similar to Those in Iraq'
Chief Artillery Officer: "The legitimacy of our firing on Gaza is accepted with much more understanding today."
By Gil Ronen
First Publish: Arutz Sheva -5/24/2012, 9:09 PM
Brigadier General David Suisa, Chief Artillery Officer, said Thursday that "The legitimacy of our firing on Gaza is accepted with much more understanding today."
He spoke at an International Conference on Firepower hosted by the IDF.
Brig. Gen. Suisa explained that "The idea of the conference is to exchange opinions and ideas about how to use firepower with the challenges that we in the IDF face, and that other countries in the world face as well. The emphasis is on fighting in urban areas and multifaceted areas."
"The conference is a very important one for the IDF in my view, both in terms of developing ideas and concepts in the use of firepower and in joint learning, because the challenges we face in accurate use of firepower in the places where we operate, in the North, in Gaza, in other places, are similar to the ones faced by other armies, in Iraq, Afghanistan and other places on the globe."
IDF Rehearses Crossing River under Fire
Engineering reconnaissance unit to use new infantry bridge to ford stream rapidly while under enemy fire.
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By Gil Ronen
First Publish: 5/24/2012, 9:08 PM
Crossing the Jordan IDF Spokesman's Unit
The Yael reconnaissance unit of Yahalom, the elite Engineering Corps Unit for Special Assignments, rehearsed crossing of a small waterway while under fire from a highly trained enemy, in a unique drill performed this month. The IDF Website's Florit Shoichet reported that the drill took place on the Jordan River, near Machanayim.
Several bridges were displayed for top commanders, including a new infantry bridge. Yael forces also demonstrated the use of rubber dinghies and ropes for transferring ground troops acros the water. The forces provide security and safety for the soldiers and vehicles crossing the river and can save soldiers who fall into the water, even in fast currents.
Exercises of this specific maneuver are relatively rare in the IDF. The last such drill took place 4 years ago. Since then, new technologies have come into use. One new item used in the drill is the infantry bridge, which can stretch over dozens of meters and is used for transferring ground soldiers from one bank of the river to the other much more quickly than was possible in the past.
Another innovation used in the rehearsal is the Trophy unit that defends against enemy anti-tank fire.
Photos: Uri Shifrin and Shai Wagner, IDF Spokesman's Unit
Soldiers to Fire 'Mini Iron Dome' in Enemy Territory
IDF project will allow soldiers behind enemy lines to fire missiles that intercept enemy launches.
By Gil Ronen
First Publish: 5/24/2012, 7:31 PM
Iron Dome in action (file)
Israel news photo: Flash 90
The IDF is working on development of a weapon will enable soldiers behind enemy lines to fire missiles that intercept enemy missile launches.
The project was presented Wednesday by Ground Forces Commander Maj. Gen. Shlomo (Sami) Turgeman at the International Firepower Conference. Maj. Gen. Turgeman, who gave an overview of the IDF Ground Force's plans for improving its firepower, explained that soldiers would be supplied with equipment capable of intercepting rockets, similar to the successful Iron Dome anti-rocket defense system.
"Our vision is to utilize soldiers in order to combat the threat of high-trajectory missiles," Maj. Gen. Turgeman explained. "We can use our maneuvering power at the front for advanced interception of rockets, as a sort of small Iron Dome." The new system, which soldiers will carry with them, will enable rocket interception on enemy territory and provide a quick method of accurately locating launch sites.
"In addition to preventing injuries among civilians and soldiers, the new system will provide information telling us in real time what the enemy is firing and from where. This way of locating rockets will let us close the circle of fire in seconds."
"Closing the circle of fire" refers to identifying and knocking out the enemy source of fire.
Maj. Gen. Turgeman also discussed a new organizational approach to battle involving the establishment of a firepower headquarters.
"In order to fit our growing fire capabilities to the crowded, urban battle environment, we must take the same weapons that thus far have been concentrated at the division level and move them to a firepower headquarters in each brigade. The brigade firepower headquarters will know how to utilize the advanced capabilities that we have built over the course of decades, while harnessing comprehensive intelligence that will reach the fire headquarters. This will be a very effective body – a slimmer and efficient command."
GOC Ground Forces also discussed the threat posed by tanks, which he called "the challenge that most influences our maneuvering tactics." In coping with this threat, he said, "the forward battle crews will receive new capabilities. "We will greatly expand the intelligence power of the combat soldiers. In real time, they will receive information from all levels – visual intelligence, field intelligence, intelligence from wiretaps, and information assembled on a daily basis will all reach the soldiers in the field."
Israel Worried by US's Made-in-China Jet Parts
Senate report on fake parts in U.S. jets gives Israel cause for concern regarding components in its own jets.
By Gil Ronen
First Publish: 5/24/2012, 6:53 PM
Air Force F-15 (file)
Flash 90
Israel is concerned by a U.S. Senate report regarding fake parts used on USAF aircraft, and is checking whether some of the parts found their way to systems on IAF aircraft as well, writes IsraelDefense.
The Senate report, as cited by CNN, says a million counterfeit parts have been discovered in systems used on American jets and helicopters, i about 1,800 separate cases. The parts were counterfeited in China and then bought and installed by U.S. defensecontractors.
The investigators focused on three types of parts: one that could compromise the SH-60B Navy helicopter's night-vision system; another that could affect systems on the C-130 and C-27 cargo planes that inform pilots of their performance; and a part on the P8-A, a Navy version of the Boeing 737 used for anti-submarine warfare, that should never have been on the airplane.
Israel is worried because IAF aircraft also contain electronic systems made by the same American manufacturers involved in the fake part debacle. Israeli experts told IsraelDefense that stopping the flood of fake Chinese parts will be hard. "They are experts at reverse technology and the copy almost everything," they said.
Jerusalem Arabs Attack the Light Rail
Passengers on the Jerusalem Light Rail were targeted Thursday by Arabs in the Beit Hanina neighborhood.
By Chana Ya'ar
First Publish: 5/24/2012, 5:36 PM
Light rail train, Jerusalem
Flash 90
Passengers on the Jerusalem Light Rail were targeted Thursday by Arabs in the Beit Hanina neighborhood, located in the northern section of the capital.
The attackers hurled rocks as the train rolled by, traumatizing some of the passengers but causing no damage since the train's cars are reinforced. The train's operator, Citipass, reported that none of the passengers were physically injured in the incident, and trainscontinued to run as usual.
This is not the first attack by Jerusalem Arabs on the Light Rail.
Muhamad Shuman is currently being held in custody in connection with the March stabbing of a 19-year-old female soldier aboard the train as it passed through the city's northern neighborhood of Pisgat Ze'ev.
Also in March, Arab attackers succeeded in cracking the glass of several windows on the train after hurling rocks at the cars as they passed through a northern Jerusalem Arab neighborhood. The windows, which are shatterproof, are intended to crack – rather than smash -- upon impact when something is hurled at them. The passengers, none of whom were physically injured, were transferred to another train.
Rock attacks aimed at the Light Rail go back as far as last year. In December a gang of Arabs hurled rocks from the Shuafat neighborhood, and in October, a group of Jerusalem Arabs attacked the train from the same area.
IDF Official: 20 Kidnap Attempts So Far This Year
A top IDF officer said Arab terrorists have been even more aggressive in attempts by to kidnap IDF soldiers and Israeli civilians.
By David Lev
First Publish: 5/24/2012, 11:59 AM
IDF on alert
Flash 90
A top IDF officer said Thursday that the army has had to deal with ever more aggressive and frequent attempts by Arab terrorists to kidnap IDF soldiers and Israeli civilians. So far this year some 20 kidnap attempts have been recorded in Judea and Samaria, the officer said.
The “hot threat” warnings are no longer limited to a specific time and place, as they had been in the past, but are ongoing, meaning that there is an imminent danger of a kidnapping taking place anywhere at any time of the day. “Terror groups are constantly on patrol looking for situations they can take advantage of,” the officer said. “Their preference is for soldiers, because they feel that can extract the highest 'price' for them.”
The motivation of terrorist groups to kidnap Israelis in order to use them as bargaining chips to release terrorists has shot up since Israel released over 1,000 terrorists in exchange for Gilad Shalit. There are currently over 8,000 terrorists and security prisoners in Israeli prisons today.
As a result, the IDF has revamped its instructions to soldiers traveling in Judea and Samaria. “Do not stand alone at an intersection, do not stand at a bus or transport station alone, make sure you are in constant touch with touch with your commanders, and report any unusual activity.” While those instructions were issued to soldiers, the officer said, civilians would do well to adopt them as well. In order to reduce the opportunities for kidnappings, the IDF has instituted regular patrols on popular routes. The patrols will increase the presence of the IDF on the roads, and will also be on the lookout for soldiers who violate the instructions.
The dangers of kidnapping are not limited to Judea and Samaria, nor to the rest of Israel. Jews around the world are vulnerable, the officer said. “Hizbullah, Islamic Jihad, and other Iranian-backed groups are still looking to take revenge for Israel's elimination of some top terrorists. We have been receiving information from security sources all over the world indicating the dangers, which are still strong. Even though the warning against civilians to travel to Turkey, for example, has been lifted, anyone who goes there needs to be very careful. IDF soldiers are forbidden to go there under any circumstances,” the officer added.
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