Dr. Aaron Lerner- IMRA: "The "Adir" fighter is a war machine capable of
executing a complete offensive operation independently, without requiring
any supporting elements. " - that is, as long as the internet connection
works between the jets and a computer in the United States BEFORE EVERY TAKE
OFF!!!
======================
"Out with the Old, In with the New"
Israel's air arm helps uphold national security in all theaters of
operations, from north to south – near and far. Brig. Gen. (ret.) Ephraim
Segoli about the challenges facing IAF and the future of Israel's air power
OrBat. Exclusive
Ephraim Segoli | 3/02/2016
http://www.israeldefense.co.il/en/content/out-old-new

2015 came to a close with the decommissioning of the veteran "Ayit" (A-4
Skyhawk) aircraft after more than forty years in IAF service. Initially, the
"Ayit" was a front-line fighter that played a major role in the Yom-Kippur
War (1973) and other conflicts. Toward the end of its service, it was used
primarily as an advanced trainer at the IAF Flying School. 2016 will come to
a close with the delivery of the first "Adir" (F-35) fighters – the world's
most advanced fighter aircraft which constitutes a war machine in its own
right.

What happened in the IAF in the last year and what are the challenges facing
IAF in the coming year? In order to answer these questions, we should take a
quick look at the occurrences and developments that were relevant to IAF in
the various theaters.

In the Gaza Strip there have been no significant changes. Apparently, Hamas
and the other terrorist organizations continue to test their operational
limits by "dripping" sporadic rocket launchers at Israeli settlements. In
the Sinai Peninsula, ISIS presence is growing and the cooperation between
ISIS and Hamas is intensifying. No one doubts the motivation of the Islamic
State organization's affiliates in the Sinai and their willingness to try
and attack Israel as well, but they concentrate on the fight against the
Egyptian Army that employs ground troops, fighter aircraft and attack
helicopters which all operate very close to the Israeli border. For this
purpose, Israel allowed Egypt to digress from the military attachment of the
peace agreement. The expansion of ISIS is not necessarily successive, and
its affiliates or the organizations identified with it pop up in other
sectors as well.

The northern theater has been drawing a lot of attention and interest in the
course of the last year. In the territory formerly known as Syria, the
forces of the Syrian Army and the various organizations and groups continued
to deliver blows at one another without reaching overbalance. Hezbollah,
taking an active part in the fighting and shedding a lot of blood in the
process, has not abandoned its efforts to continue strengthening and
improving its operational capabilities vis-à-vis Israel, in preparation for
the next round of hostilities.

The air operation against the Islamic State, conducted by the forces of the
western coalition led by the USA, continues at intermediate intensity.
During the last quarter of the year, a dramatic change has taken place when
the Russians entered the scene very aggressively. The Russian involvement,
whose primary interest is keeping the Syrian President in power, has changed
the balance of power and established a new system of restrictions and
tensions. Justifiably, Prime Minister Netanyahu, accompanied by the IDF
Chief of Staff and Head of the IDF Intelligence Directorate, promptly
travelled to Russia for the purpose of establishing strategic and operative
coordination.

In the more distant circle, Iran is currently reaping the fruits of the
nuclear agreement. One of the obvious disadvantages of that agreement is the
fact that it does not address the blatant intervention by Iran in various
regions and its encouragement and support of terrorism. The recent trial of
a ballistic missile by Iran, which violates the terms of the agreement, has
taught us that it will continue to test its operational boundaries and
expand them when it has found an opportunity to do so.

A review of notable events that occurred within the IAF in 2015 shows that
the characteristics of the use of force have not changed in the last year.
IAF constituted the preferred tool for the use of force owing to its unique
capabilities, including the ability to accurately hit enemy targets while
inflicting minimum collateral damage and the ability to respond promptly
while generating a minimum amount of friction. The actual implementation of
these capabilities is associated, quite naturally, with intelligence
gathering capabilities.

At the beginning of last year, the cadets of the IAF Flying School flew the
new "Lavi" (M-346) advanced trainer for the first time. These new trainers
have gradually replaced the veteran "Ayit" (A-4) trainers. The capabilities
and performance characteristics of the new trainer aircraft, which closely
resemble those of the IAF's operational aircraft, will optimally prepare the
cadets for their transition to the operational world.

The IDF Chief of Staff awarded IAF Unit 669 and the Iron Dome battalion with
citations for their outstanding performance during Operation Protective
Edge. This ceremonial event effectively reflected the broadest sense of the
term "air power" as it is conceived by IAF.

Two specific events demonstrated the potential of the IAF's long arm and its
capability to deploy and operate in remote regions. First – the airlifting
of the Israeli humanitarian aid teams to Nepal pursuant to the earthquake
last April (the new "Samson" C-130J Super Hercules transporters spearheaded
this effort. Last year, the third "Samson" was assimilated by IAF.) Second –
a joint training exercise with USAF was conducted in the USA, in the context
of which IAF "Re'em" (Boeing 707) transporters broke two records: one – the
longest flight and the other – the highest number of airborne refueling
cycles.

The joint exercise with USAF, along with two similar events, effectively
demonstrated the importance assigned by IAF to the development of strategic
and operative cooperative alliances with other air forces. The first was a
mutual signing by IAF and USAF of a strategic document that actually
intensified and enhanced the cooperative alliance between the two air
forces. The other event involved the deployment of IAF aircraft to Greece,
where a joint exercise was conducted with the Hellenic Air Force. These
events clarified once again how IAF is conceived by other air forces and the
cooperation potential that stems from that. In a conference held last year
at the Fisher Institute for Air & Space Strategic Studies, IAF Commander
Maj. Gen. Amir Eshel described the inflow of visitors coming to learn and
gain a first-hand impression of the experience and know-how gained by IAF in
its various fields of activity, which is another evidence of the importance
of such cooperative alliances.

Last October, IAF completed the assimilation of the new state-of-the-art
Unmanned Aerial Vehicle "Kochav" (Hermes 900). The "Kochav", possessing
enhanced endurance and an improved carrying capacity, had its Baptism by
Fire during Operation Protective Edge in the summer of 2014, even before its
operational assimilation was completed. This demonstrated, once again, the
close cooperation between the Israeli defense industry and IAF – which
constitutes an additional and highly important tier in the strength of the
air force.

The Next Generation is on the Way

In the coming year, the IAF will continue to conduct the on-going operations
in the south and in the north while employing its offensive and defensive
capabilities in order to provide the political echelon with maximum
latitude. The defensive potential of the IAF will further improve following
the assimilation of the David's Sling system.

The importance of the coordination opposite Russia can be appreciated
against the background of the serious incident where the Turkish Air Force
shot down a Russian fighter aircraft. Nevertheless, IAF will be required to
exercise extreme caution in its future operations, owing to the enhanced
sensitivity and the increased density of the relevant airspace.

The IAF will be required to continue developing its abilities to cooperate
with the other arms, based on the understanding that in the complex
operations where a more decisive overbalance is required, the required level
of interoperability will be very high. All of the enemies and opponents of
Israel understand the central role played by IAF and will do their best to
disrupt its operation in diversified ways, like acquiring new air-defense
systems, attacking IAF airbases and attempting to damage its command and
control systems. Consequently, one of the primary challenges will be
maintaining operational continuity.

The expected entrance into operational service of the new "Adir" fighters
will have a strategic, operative and tactical significance. From a strategic
perspective, the introduction of these fighters will open a significant gap
between IAF and the opponent air forces and demonstrate even more clearly
the solid alliance between Israel and the USA. The fact that the Turkish Air
Force will also acquire these fighters will not diminish this strategic
significance. The "Adir" fighter is a war machine capable of executing a
complete offensive operation independently, without requiring any supporting
elements. The first two "Adir" fighters will land in Israel in December 2016
and the OrBat would be complemented over the course of the two following
years. This war machine will play a major role in providing solutions to the
challenges the IAF is expected to face in the future.

Brig. Gen. (ret.) Ephraim Segoli is the Head of the A-Symmetrical Conflict
Research Center at the Fisher Institute for Air & Space Strategic Studies
and the former Commandant of IAF Palmahim airbase