In an interview with the military's Bamahane weekly, Sheffer said the
Air Force's enhancement stemmed from the war against Hizbullah in 2006, Middle East Newsline reported. He
said the Air Force was developing platforms and methods to defeat
surface-to-surface rockets and unmanned aerial vehicles.
"In preparation, we are doing intensive intelligence research and
employing new methods improved after the war," Sheffer said on July 27. "We
are bringing in never-before-used weapons, and I know the Israel Air Force
will be able
to function properly in any incident."
The Air Force has assessed that Iran significantly bolstered Hamas
and Hizbullah. Sheffer said Hizbullah has learned to protect its weapons
assets, particularly missiles and rockets, and acquired advanced
anti-aircraft missiles.
"We see this in the way they better defend their people and assets,"
Sheffer said. "Hizbullah draws conclusions, researches and improves, making
it more difficult for our intelligence forces to locate both organizations
and targets."
The Air Force has assessed that Hizbullah and its allies would employ a
significant number of unmanned aerial vehicles. Officials said Hizbullah
could launch dozens of UAVs in any next war.
"We've improved our systems in order to better counteract the next UAV
attempt," Lt. Col. Assaf, commander of the Air Force's Aircraft Control
Unit. "Today we are prepared for unmanned threats of any scale, 24 hours a
day."
For its part, the Air Force has been expanding UAV operations. Officials
said UAVs would conduct reconnaissance and other missions in an effort to
coordinate between air and ground forces.
"We've significantly increased the number of training exercise," Lt.
Col. C., commander of the First UAV Squadron, said. "Before the Second
Lebanon War [in 2006], we were insufficiently coordinated with ground
forces, and now UAVs partake in every brigade training exercise. Ground
forces know to request, receive and operate the vehicles extremely well, and
the pace of creating targets greatly improved."