Tel Aviv - Israel and the United States are to hold a joint, 16-day air defence exercise, described as the largest drill ever by the two countries in Israel, Tel Aviv announced Tuesday. The Juniper Cobra 10 drill, starting Wednesday, aims to test how well the Israeli and US defence systems work together in the event of a missile attack against the Middle Eastern country.
"Small numbers" of US forces normally stationed in Europe will will be temporarily deployed at a number of locations in Israel during the drill, the Israeli military said in an announcement.
Israelis may observe troop movements and a number of roads will be closed for short periods of time, it warned. In total, some 1,000 US Army personnel and a similar number of IDF soldiers are to take part.
Officials in Syria, Iran and Lebanon's radical Shiite Hezbollah movement have been monitoring preparations for the air defence drill with concern, but Israel has made a point of issuing calming messages, saying it had no intention of exploiting the exercise to carry out offensive action.
The drill is the fifth in a series of biennial Juniper Cobra exercises, took 18 months to plan and is "part of a routine training cycle designed to improve the interoperability of both air defence systems," said the Israeli military statement.
"This exercise is not in response to any world events," it stressed in a clear reference to world speculation as to whether Israel is planning a military strike against Iran.
Iran and Syria are said to also be keenly awaiting the results of the exercise. According to Israeli media, they have been making a concerted intelligence effort to uncover Israel's weak spots in its defence against missiles.
The drill is to simulate long-range missile fire at Israel from Iran, Syria and Lebanon. Towards the end, American systems are expected to carry out a "live interception" of missiles.
