The Israeli Air Force practices to prevent a 9/11 type attack

The Israeli Defence Force website reported that the Israeli Air Force (IAF) has performed a series of exercises designed to simulate aerial attacks on Israeli territory.

Although the news was released on Sept. 11, the exercises, that took place shortly before the anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the US, were aimed to prepare for similar terrorist attacks on Israel. Since the IAF continues to train for any eventuality, combat squadrons of the IAF spent a week training to handle several different scenarios in which aircraft threatened Israeli skies.

First Lt. Ronen, instruction officer of the Defenders of the South Squadron, whom are responsible for the squadron’s training, said “We are flying in scenarios that we face routinely, but through them we are practicing identifying civilian or enemy aircraft that are invading our aerial territory and threatening Israeli skies.”

Ronen added “During this exercise, the pilots face a civilian aircraft that does not respond in the communication device, a hostile UAV collecting intelligence, and a helicopter landing forces in our territory” he went on to add further “They need to know how to handle these kinds of situations.”

The training activity was supported by other units whose planes played the aggressors role or “Red Formations”; one of the IAF Boeing 707s simulated a hijacked civilian airliner.