Tel Aviv: Israel is currently conducting the largest air maneuver ever in several countries, in the presence of the Air Force Commander of the Emirates, which recently normalized its relations with the Hebrew state.
The head of operations in the Israeli Air Force, Amir Lazar, assured reporters that the exercises “do not focus on Iran,” even though it represents the first strategic threat to Israel and is at the heart of many of the Hebrew state's military plans.
Israel has been conducting the “Blue Flag” exercise every two years since 2013 in the Negev desert.
The Israeli 🇮🇱 and the Emirati 🇦🇪 leaders exchanged talks about cooperation and strengthening the relationship between the two air forces.
Air Force Commander Amikam Norkin: Thank you, UAE Air Force Commander, for your willingness to go to Israel. This is a historic and important day for cooperation between the two air forces pic.twitter.com/wHwz7S0xhU
— Avichay Adraee (@AvichayAdraee) October 25, 2021
France, Germany, the United States and Britain are taking part in this year's exercises, whose planes are flying over Israeli territory for the first time since the establishment of the state in 1948.
Lazar told reporters at the Ovda Air Base in southern Israel that the presence of more than 70 combat aircraft, including the Mirage 2000, Rafale and F-16, and 1,500 personnel in training makes it the largest training ever in the Jewish state.
Although the Emirati planes were not in the exercises, Lazar described the visit of the Air Force Commander as "very important" and expressed his hope to "host the UAE Air Force" in the future.
The common concern of Israel and the UAE about Iran is one of the reasons for their rapprochement.
According to Lazar, the objectives of the "Blue Flag" exercises include synchronizing different types of aircraft used by different countries to confront armed drones and other threats.
Through this maneuver, Israel sought to sound the alarm about a fleet of drones that it claims Tehran is sending to its proxies throughout the Middle East, including Yemen, Syria and Lebanon.
Lazar said Iran was focusing on "building a fleet of unmanned aircraft."
The chief of operations in the Israeli Air Force expects that the countries will work in the exercises “one day” to confront the Iranian threat.
Recently, Israel and Iran exchanged warning messages in their speeches, against the backdrop of renewed efforts to revive the nuclear agreement between Iran and international powers.
Israel categorically opposes Biden's attempt to return to the Iranian nuclear agreement concluded with Tehran in 2015.
(AFP)