Juniper Cobra: Israel, U.S. begin joint military exercises

Story Highlights

Israeli military says drill “is not in response to any world events”
Air defense exercise believed to be largest joint military exercise between Israel, U.S.
Security analysis firm: Drill “will ratchet up already sky-high tensions” with Iran
Missile defense exercise will be held for two weeks in Israel

JERUSALEM (CNN) — Israel and the United States commenced what is believed to be their largest ever joint military exercises in missile defense Wednesday.

The long-planned, two-week air defense exercise has been dubbed Juniper Cobra 10 and will involve participation of 1,000 personnel from the U.S. European Command and the Israeli military, according to a statement from the Israel Defense Forces. It’s the fifth such exercise since 2001.

According to the global security analysis firm Stratfor, the Juniper Cobra drill will be the “largest and most complex bilateral ballistic missile defense exercise” the two countries have conducted together and “will include a series of ballistic missile defense systems that would be used to defend against a hypothetical ballistic missile attack launched from Iran.”

In a news release about the joint air defense exercises, the Israeli military said the drill “is not in response to any world events,” but the maneuvers do come at time of increasing tensions amongst the United States and Israel with Iran over its nuclear program.

Both the American and Israeli governments believe Iran is seeking to develop nuclear weapons, an allegation Tehran has denied.

Stratfor said that despite the fact that the Juniper Cobra exercise has been planned for more than a year the drill “will ratchet up already sky-high tensions between the West and Iran.”

Among the systems expected to be deployed and tested during the drills are the Arrow and Patriot missiles, along with the Theater High Altitude Area Defense and the naval-deployed Aegis missile defense systems.

The IDF statement said, “In the course of the exercise small numbers of U.S. forces from U.S. Army Europe … will be temporarily deployed to a number of locations in Israel in the vicinity of civilian areas.”
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Israel, U.S. test air defense against Iran

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Tel Aviv, Israel (UPI) Oct 21, 2009: Israel and the United States kicked off Wednesday a major air defense exercise that will simulate a missile attack on Israel.

Code-named Juniper Cobra, the two-week exercise is the largest drill ever between the two countries.

It is the fifth in a series of biennial exercises and will include about 1,000 American personnel and an equal number of personnel from Israel’s military.

Israeli public radio said the U.S. personnel were set to mesh ground- and ship-based missile interceptors like the Aegis, THAAD and Patriot with Israel’s Arrow II ballistic shield.

Both nations have denied any connection between the air defense drill and heightened tensions over Iran’s nuclear program.

Still, Israel radio quoted an unnamed commander as saying that the exercise “served to prepare for a nuclear Iran.”

Both the United States and Israel argue that Iran is pursuing a nuclear weapons program, a charge Tehran has repeatedly denied saying it is only seeking nuclear power.

Possessing what experts believe is the only nuclear arsenal in the Middle East, Israel views a nuclear Iran as an existential threat and has suggested that it could resort to an attack to avert its arch-foe from attaining means that may imperil its existence.

The United States has been using diplomacy to try and sway Tehran to abandon its contentious nuclear program.

During the two-week exercise, U.S. forces will be deployed to a number of locations in Israel, within the vicinity of civilian areas. The joint exercise will simulate long-range missile attacks on Israel from Iran, Syria and Lebanon.

Experts suggest the war drill will test the two countries’ missile defense systems, testing technology that could be used to shield Israel from a potential Iran attack.

In all, a total of 17 U.S. warships have been deployed, equipped with special radar systems capable of detecting surface-to-surface missiles for the exercise.

Israeli media reported that the drill will also include the use of X-band radar technology used to spot incoming missiles from miles away.

Deteriorating ties between Israel and Turkey forced Ankara earlier this month to call off a NATO exercise because of Israeli participation.

American diplomats have since then been prodding Turkey to mend relations with Israel, explaining that looming tensions between the once-regional allies was hurting United States interests in the Middle East.

Turkey has long served as Israel’s closest ally in the Muslim world, acting also as a key partner in security, trade and tourism relations.

Those relations, however, have soured since the onslaught in Gaza last December.

Hezbollah and Hamas are considered Iranian proxies in Lebanon and the Gaza strip.

With the U.S.-Israel drill, said local media quoting Eytan Gilboa, a political scientist at Israel’s Bar-Ilan University, the exercise “sends a message to Iran, to Hezbollah and to Hamas that the strategic relationship between the United States and Israel remains solid.”