Israel’s southern air bases face a growing security challenge from an unusual combination of geography, illegal weapons, drones and potential hostile intelligence activity in the communities surrounding the installations.
Israel’s electronic-warfare capabilities have emerged as an increasingly important layer of battlefield protection, allowing Israeli forces to disrupt enemy weapons, drones and communications without necessarily firing a shot.
Eli Levy expected Simchat Torah to be a day of prayer, celebration and candy for his children. Instead, he found himself facing hundreds of terrorists with only a handgun and 50 bullets.
Israel’s air strategy is being reshaped by a new economic reality in warfare: cheap unmanned systems can perform missions once reserved for aircraft costing tens or hundreds of millions of dollars, but they still cannot replace the unique capabilities of advanced fighter jets.
