As Iran doggedly pursues nuclear capability, Israel and the United States plan to hold a joint large scale missile defense exercise next year to improve operational coordination of their defense systems.
Both the Arrow 2 and Iron Dome missile defense systems, and America's THAAD (Terminal High Altitude Area Defense), as well as the ship based Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense System will take part in the exercise where actual launching interceptors will be used.To facilitate the "Juniper Cobra," exercise Air Force commander in the EUCOM Gen. Mark Welsh visited Israel for talks with Israel Air Force commander Maj.-Gen. Ido Nehushtan.Officials said the exercise scheduled to take place in early 2012 will be one of the most extensive and complex drills ever conducted.The aim of the exercise is to create the necessary infrastructureand interoperability between Israeli and American missile defense systems in the event the US government decides to deploy these systems in Israel pursuant to a conflict with Iran.
