During a war, it is not just the squadrons and the intelligence operators in the situation room who have to work quickly. This week, an arms exercise was held, which prepared the Armaments Division for complex and intense scenarios. For a full day, the maintenance squadrons and the armament units worked to ensure that their planes took off to the mission on time
Michal Khayut and Shir Cohen
Over the past year, the IAF has been working to boost its attack capabilities in times of emergency. To this end, much work is required of the soldiers of the force: from intelligence operators who create the targets to the aircrews in the squadrons to the maintenance units. This week, an intensive training day was held, which trained the maintenance squadrons and the armament units on the force’s airbases for a situation in which they would have to take out dozens of armed fighters from the hangers within the shortest period of time. At the southern Ramon airbase, the exercise focused on developing the abilities of their arms factories. The arms-factories consist of many stations, in which parts of the armaments is assembled.
„The idea is that during intense fighting, you have to provide the squadrons with as much arms in as little time as possible”, explains Major Kobi Galis, Commander of the Guided Weapons and Ammunition Division at the Ramon airbase. „At our factories, we concentrate all the different components in a number of warehouses that are all close to the factory itself. That way, even the transport of parts is done quickly and the bomb-production time is shortened thanks to the factory”. The preparations for the process of boosting the attack output began in the Armaments and Aerial Defense Department as early as last year and as time goes on, the exercises become even more challenging, until the goal has been reached.
„Such skills require changes from all aircrews and from every soldier in intelligence but ultimately, it all comes together as a single capability”, said Colonel Haim, commander of the department. „The exercise and the training have an important part: we have to make sure we know how to fight around the clock”.
Source: IAF
Author: Michal Khayut and Shir Cohen
Photo: IAF