The Israeli air defence systems are achieving high rates of intercept in the ongoing war with the Hamas in Gaza and the Hezbollah in Lebanon , two Iranian proxies .
But the Israeli defence forces (IDF) expect that in a major war for example with Iran , this country’s long range ballistic missiles will target the Israeli airforce (IAF) bases.
To be prepared for such a scenario , the idea of forming a long range ground-ground missile unit is again being evaluated very seriously – this time under the command of the IAF .
The initial plan was to create this kind of force under the artillery corps of the IDF. Currently, these run a single battalion on a restricted basis. The proposal speaks of substantially larger units equipped with several types of ground-based missiles.
Some years ago, the IDF have decided against creating a specialized ground-ground missile unit , an idea that was brought up by then defence minister Avigdor Lieberman.
According to updated assessments, Hezbollah in Lebanon currently possesses between 140,000 – 160.000 rockets of different types most of them Iranian made that can hit almost any point in Israel. The Hamas has some thousand rockets, including long range ones. These are currently launched into Israel but intercepted by the Iron Dome air defence system.
Forming a ground-ground missile unit within the IAF is according to sources “the best solution” as the force operates the multi-layered air defence system, which includes the Iron Dome, David’s Sling, and Arrow, is a concept that will be assessed following the battle.
A senior source said to Zona Militar that such a unit within the IAF makes a lot of sense ” the existing sensors that serve the air defence systems will enable the ground – ground missile unit to get the needed data in real time and act to suppress further attacks”
In recent years, Israeli companies Elbit systems and Israel aerospace industries have developed different types of ground – ground missiles with ranges of up to 400 km.
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