This year marks the 70th anniversary of the emergence of the Jewish State on the world political map. Throughout their modern history, starting in 1947, the Israelis had to constantly wage an armed struggle for survival. Israel, being in a hostile environment of political regimes, managed not only to withstand a superior enemy, but also to become a regional political leader in the Middle East. The Israeli army has the most extensive combat experience among the modern armed forces, and is considered one of the best armies in the world in terms of training and technical equipment. The IDF or the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) can rightfully be called an exemplary model of a modern army, where combat effectiveness is determined not by the number of soldiers and officers, but by the level of training and the pace of mobilization of the necessary resources. The Israeli army is one of the few in which girls serve along with men.

The Israel Defense Forces is the main instrument of the security of the State of Israel. This title was not given to the Israeli armed forces in advance, on the contrary, throughout its history, it was the IDF that became a stumbling block for opponents who sought to destroy the new state formation in the Middle East. The history of the IDF began in 1948, and since that time the main function - the protection of sovereignty and territorial integrity, has been carried out brilliantly. The Israeli army had to be a participant in six major wars, and each time the Israeli armed forces proved their superiority on the battlefield.

Today, when there has been no active hostilities in the Middle East for more than 30 years, Israel is forced to fight alone against the terrorist threat emanating from radical Islamic groups. The IDF at this stage is an effective tool to curb the expansion of the Islamic world in the region, remains a security factor and a guarantor of the peace agreements reached.

Reasons for the high efficiency of the Israel Defense Forces

Analyzing historical facts that testify to the activity of Israel in the political arena, one involuntarily comes to the conclusion that a strong and modern army is the key to a successful foreign policy of the state. Israel's military doctrine is defensive in nature. This is written in the charter of the IDF, the officers and soldiers of the IDF are guided by this. The defensive policy of the State of Israel is fundamentally different from traditional tactical defense in the usual sense of the term.

The actions of the armed forces, strategic planning and mobilization resources are aimed at conducting offensive operations. In other words, the Israeli army adheres to offensive tactics, acting as part of a strategic defense. The reason why the leadership of the country chose such a tactic is easy to explain. A small territory with a complex configuration, the geographical position of Israel does not have the ability to organize strategic defense in full depth. The main weapon used by the Israelis in previous armed conflicts was to seize the strategic initiative. The army command has always sought to transfer hostilities to enemy territory, thereby protecting its own territory and population from destruction and suffering.

This tactic has been repeatedly successfully demonstrated in all the wars raging in the Middle East. Moreover, it is surprising that the IDF was opposed by numerous and well-armed armies of the Arab states. The qualitative superiority of the Israeli troops contributed to the successful implementation of the offensive defense. This is not only technical equipment and competent qualified command. The main factor in the high defense capability of the IDF is the high morale of its soldiers and high fighting spirit.

Israel has never been able to boast of large human resources that can be thoughtlessly thrown into the furnace of armed conflict. In such a situation, the only correct decision was made - to have a small and technically trained professional army. The basis of the army is made up of regular military personnel and conscripts, who form the backbone of regular army units. Behind the back of the regular military there is a large mobilization reserve, which allows in a matter of hours to triple or quadruple the size of the army. Reservists for the Israeli army not only undergo training, but are also periodically called up for service. The Air Force and the Navy have a permanent staff and strength.

Such a structure for the formation of the armed forces has repeatedly proved its effectiveness, and this despite the fact that in Israel the army is recruited only on a conscription basis. Another distinguishing feature of the Israeli military's recruiting system is the recruitment of both men and women. The fair sex can be found not only at communication centers and in headquarters. Women serve in combat units of the ground forces, serve in the navy and air force. The ratio of girls to representatives of the strong half in the Israeli army is 1 to 5.

In other words, in the form in which the Israeli Army exists today, it owes the consequences of the geopolitical situation that has developed from the very first days of the existence of the Israeli State. Only such a principle of building our own army, the constant improvement of weapons and the maintenance of troops in constant combat readiness, became the conditions and guarantors of the country's survival.

IDF structure

Today, the Israeli army is the main figure in the chess game played in the Middle East for more than half a century. The entire Middle East theater of operations is under the control of the IDF, given the increased military-technical capabilities of the army. In peacetime, the size of the army does not exceed 186 thousand people, of which 140 thousand are in the ground forces. The army in emergency situations can rapidly increase the number to 600 thousand people, most of whom will go to the disposal of the ground army units.

The structure of the IDF includes:

• ground troops;
• Air Force (together with air defense forces);
• Naval Forces.

All three components of the Israel Defense Forces are under a single command. This is one of the main advantages that the Israeli army can boast over other armies. The main command and control of the troops comes from the Chief of the General Staff, who, in turn, reports to the Minister of Defense of Israel and the Prime Minister. The position of Chief of the General Staff is administered by the Knesset, the Israeli Parliament, and is appointed by the Israeli government. As a rule, the term of office is limited to three years. In a number of cases, the term of office of the Chief of the General Staff is extended for another year, until the end of the powers of the current government.

The entire territory of the country is divided into three operational districts - the northern, central and southern military districts. During hostilities, the headquarters of the districts automatically become the headquarters of the fronts. The main tactical unit of the Israeli army is the division. Each division in the ground forces is a small army with its own strike units, logistics, front-line aviation and air defense forces. When conducting large-scale military operations, a corps administration is formed on the basis of the headquarters command of the district, which includes several divisions.

The Navy consists of surface and submarine forces, which equally carry out the combat missions assigned to them. The main function of the Israeli Navy is to protect maritime borders and prevent the blocking of ports and naval bases by the forces of a potential enemy.

The IDF Air Force is the military elite. Pilots are only military personnel drafted into the army on a contract basis. Squadrons are formed by conscripts only for the needs of the logistics and technical support of aviation units.

Armament of the IDF. Features of acquisition and technical equipment

It should be noted that Israel has always been in a privileged position, receiving technical support from everywhere. Despite the fact that Israel has always adhered to a pro-Western orientation, military assistance to the country was provided by two main opposing camps, the Western and Eastern blocs. Initially, Israel's military power was formed by captured weapons inherited from the British colonial army that left Palestine after the end of World War II.

The basis of the Israeli Air Force at that time was only a couple of transport aircraft. The ground forces were armed with only a dozen British Mk.VIII Cromwell vehicles. Only with the outbreak of hostilities did Israel begin to receive military-technical assistance. True, it was of a specific nature, however, this was enough to increase the combat capability of the IDF.

After the start of the first Arab-Israeli war of 1947-49, the USSR began to provide military assistance to the young state. Through their intermediaries in Eastern Europe, through Czechoslovakia, captured German weapons flowed into Israel. Basically, it was captured small arms, anti-tank artillery and aircraft. The Israelis won their first victories over the Arabs in the air, fighting on captured German Messerschmitt 109 fighters. Even in such a difficult situation, the IDF managed to defeat the Arab coalition, which included Egypt, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon.

After the end of hostilities, it became obvious that the success achieved would only temporarily delay another military conflict. The Arab countries were eager for revenge, so Israel faced the acute issue of equipping the army, aviation and navy with modern and combat-ready weapons. From that moment on, the orientation of the warring parties in the Middle East takes clear directions. Arabov supports the USSR and the Warsaw Pact countries. Israel falls under the responsibility of the United States.

Since then, Israel has become the exclusive military-technical partner of the United States. American weapons flowed into the country. In addition to the captured military equipment captured from the Arabs during the hostilities, the main weapon of the Israeli army becomes either American or of its own, Israeli production.

As a result, the IDF began to receive means of armed struggle from other countries. Until 1980, Israel was one of the first buyers in the arms market, buying up almost all the latest models of aviation, missile and armored vehicles. Starting from the 70s, own developments began to arrive on the equipment of the AOI. First, the Israeli Merkava tank appeared first, replacing the American M60 tanks. Then came the turn of the Air Force, which received its own quite modern fighter "Kfir". This suggests that by this period, Israel managed to create in its country a powerful Military-Industrial Complex, sharpened for a full production cycle. Armaments and military equipment of all classes began to be produced at factories and factories in Israel, which went directly to equip their own armed forces.

However, Israel did not abandon the old equipment that was in service with the army in the 50s and 60s of the XX century. Most of the captured equipment, mostly Soviet-style, is located in arsenals located in the border areas.

The basis of the ground forces of the IDF is the armored forces. These units have glorious fighting traditions and are the backbone of the Israeli army. According to preliminary data, the army units have up to 3,000 tanks, of which half are their own Merkava tanks. The rest of the vehicles are American M60s, upgraded M48s, British Centurions and captured Soviet-made vehicles.

Most of the captured equipment captured during the Arab-Israeli wars (T-55, T-62 tanks) was converted into engineer equipment and heavy armored transporters. The Israeli army is equipped with a large number of armored personnel carriers and vehicles that provide high mobility to the ground forces. The IDF uses self-propelled artillery units as the main element of fire support. More than 1000 self-propelled guns with calibers of 100-203 mm are the basis of the firepower of the ground forces. In most cases, this is American-made equipment. Recently, the MAR 290 and MAR 350 multiple launch rocket systems of our own production began to be supplied to the ground forces. Mortars are an indispensable means of strengthening the combat capability of army tactical units, as are anti-tank weapons. American anti-tank systems TOW-1 TOW-2 became the grave-diggers of Arab tanks during the last large-scale Arab-Israeli war "Judgment Day". In addition to them, the IDF infantry units are equipped with US-made Dragon light anti-tank systems.

Each army unit at the level of battalion, regiment and division is equipped with a melee air defense system. The army has up to 48 Chapparelle and Avenger launchers. The composition of tactical battalion groups includes self-propelled launchers "Volcano" and towed anti-aircraft artillery installations. The army units are armed with portable air defense systems "Stinger" and "Red Eye".

The main air defense system is part of the Air Force. Quantitatively, the air defense forces are represented by the Arrow anti-aircraft missile systems, which protect the country's territory from missile strikes. Recently, the Patriot anti-aircraft missile system (48 launchers) and up to 200 Improved Hawk anti-aircraft missile systems have entered service with air defense systems. Both anti-aircraft missile systems have a medium and long range, designed to intercept ballistic delivery vehicles on the territory of neighboring states.

State of the Israeli Air Force and Navy

Traditionally, in the Israeli armed forces, the ground forces are in close cooperation with the Air Force and the Navy. The IDF Air Force is the strongest in the Middle East. This is confirmed by the qualitative and quantitative composition. Israeli Air Force pilots are considered the elite of the armed forces. The technical equipment of military aviation looks no less brilliant. The Air Force is armed with American F-15 Eagle fighters. Front-line aviation is represented by 240 F-16 Fighting Falcons. Since 2005, aviation has been supplied with the latest F-16I Sufa fighters.

Front-line aviation, whose function is to support the ground forces, also has helicopter units. Basically, the fleet of combat helicopters is represented by American-made AH-64 Apache and AH-1 Cobra machines.

In addition to front-line aviation, the Israeli Air Force has a large number of aviation reconnaissance aircraft, and there is a fairly large fleet of transport aircraft. Starting in 2010, the Israeli Air Force began a large-scale program to equip aviation units with unmanned aerial vehicles. As an operational reserve, the Air Force has 2nd and 3rd generation aircraft, including 140 F-4E Phantom-IIs, about a hundred A-4 Skyhawk attack aircraft and more than a hundred Israeli Kfir fighter-bombers.

Summing up, we can say that Israeli aviation is technically strong. The latest technology is in the capable hands of pilots who rely on a well-functioning control system. The use of long-range radar reconnaissance aircraft as a means of guidance increases the combat capabilities of the IDF Air Force, making Israeli aviation the dominant deterrent in the region. The pilots and maintenance personnel of the Israeli Air Force have a high level of military-technical and combat training that meets the requirements of modern air combat.

The Israeli Naval Forces include formations of surface ships and a formation of submarine forces. The surface component is represented by German-built Saar 4.5 missile boats, and Saar 5 corvettes also built at German shipyards.

Corvettes provide stability to the connection of missile boats, perform the function of the command and staff centers of the Navy in the Red and Mediterranean Seas. The strike force of the fleet can be considered submarine forces. Three Dolphin-class submarines built in Germany belong to the 4th generation submarines and can carry both torpedo and missile weapons. Submarine forces include subdivisions of divers. Patrol and security functions are performed by patrol boats and whaleboats equipped with small arms and anti-aircraft weapons. In general, the Israeli Naval Forces are considered combat-ready and meet the requirements of modern naval weapons. With close cooperation with the Air Force, the Navy can successfully confront a potential enemy in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Red Sea.

Service in the Israeli army

It has already been said above that the IDF is completed on the basis of universal military service. All persons over the age of 18, boys and girls, are considered fit for service. For men, the term of military service is defined as 3 years, for girls of military age - 2 years. All citizens of Israel are subject to conscription, including those who have dual citizenship and those persons who temporarily reside outside the country.

Repatriate citizens aged 18-24 undergo an abbreviated military training course, which is determined depending on family composition, health status and age qualification. Persons over the age of 24 who have arrived for permanent residence in Israel serve in the reserve, having previously completed a military training course. Those citizens who, before arriving in the country, have already completed military service in the armies of other states are also involved in military service under a shortened program. The term of service in the IDF is determined by a special commission, which evaluates the professional suitability of a person liable for military service and his civilian usefulness.

An interesting fact: girls over the age of 20 who are married, people with health problems, repatriates over 26 and with children in care are exempt from conscription. Persons studying in religious schools are not drafted into the army. There is no threat of conscription for boys and girls who cannot serve in the army for religious reasons and beliefs. This category of citizens without fail undergoes alternative service.

Persons who are in the reserve may be annually involved in military training, which lasts 45 days. This approach to the configuration of the Israeli armed forces allows the country to deploy a combat-ready wartime army within two days.

A distinctive feature of the configuration of the IDF is the ability of the recruit to choose a place of service and a military unit. The direction to the troops is carried out after the conscripts pass the test for professional suitability. The recruit himself has the right to choose a military specialty, respectively, the army command is forced to take into account his interests.

The first acquaintance with weapons begins from the moment a soldier is enrolled in the staff of a military unit. Each serviceman receives at his disposal a machine gun or other type of small arms, which is surrendered after being transferred to the reserve. During leave, in dismissals, all military personnel are considered soldiers and are obliged, in case of emergency, to appear in their military units.

The AOI has an interesting system of training officers and commanders. Every soldier who has expressed a desire can become an officer. Having completed a course of initial military training and having proved in practice his military abilities, a soldier, after the recommendation of his commanders, can be sent to an officer training course. The course of education and training lasts from six months or more, depending on the type of troops, position and place of service. Combat unit officers undergo a longer training course. Not surprisingly, the majority of career officers in the IDF are former ordinary soldiers.

There is a staff college for senior officers in the country. For senior officers in Israel, there is the National Defense Academy. Often, IDF officers are trained in military schools in the United States, France, Great Britain and Germany. The term of service of each officer is determined by the term of the signed contract, which is defined as 5 years. The constantly updated officer corps of the Israeli army stimulates the promotion of young people through the ranks. In the military units of the IDF, you rarely see a general over 50 years old, which is the norm for most armies of post-Soviet states.

IDF- so briefly in Hebrew is the name of the Israel Defense Forces. The IDF is rightfully considered one of the strongest armies in the world, having won all the wars and armed conflicts in which it had to participate in its almost 60-year history. The IDF is an example of a people's army - the entire population of Israel: men and women, representatives of all ethnic and religious communities, owners of billions of dollars and people from poor families - all, as one, fulfill their heavy duty as a soldier in the army ranks.

The prestige of military service in Israel is very high - it is considered something indecent to "hang" from army service, the competition for recruits to elite combat units is dozens of people for one place. And after demobilization, the whole life of Israelis is connected with the army - until the age of forty, reservists are annually drafted into the army for monthly training camps, people live in readiness for unexpected mobilization. No wonder the following joke is popular: "An Israeli is a soldier who is on vacation 11 months a year"

Who is in charge of the IDF

Israel is a parliamentary democracy, and therefore the army is separated from politics. The head of the Ministry of Defense is a civilian official who is appointed by decision of the Prime Minister. This important government post is currently held by Amir Peretz, formerly the head of the Israeli trade unions. The Minister of Defense defends the interests of the army in parliament and in the government, primarily in the distribution of the budget, but the real leadership of the troops is carried out by the chief of the General Staff - a regular military man.

According to the tradition existing in Israel, the Chief of the General Staff is appointed by the government on the recommendation of the Minister of Defense for a period of 3 years. In the future, this period may be extended by no more than one year. When appointed to the post of Chief of the General Staff, he is given the rank of Colonel General and he is the only person in active service who has this high rank. Under his command is the entire huge well-coordinated military machine called the IDF.

For the past two years, the Chief of the General Staff has been Air Force Colonel General Dan Halutz. Dan Halutz became the seventeenth chief of the General Staff in the history of the Jewish state. This appointment can be considered significant - for the first time, a military pilot is at the head of the IDF, while all of his predecessors were from infantry or paratrooper troops.

In the event of a general mobilization, the IDF turns in a matter of hours from a peacetime army, in which about 200,000 military personnel serve, into one of the most combat-ready armies in the world, in which up to 800,000 well-trained fighters and commanders are ready for combat missions.

Commanders of the Northern, Central and Southern military districts, the Rear Command, the headquarters of the Ground Forces, the commanders of the military branches, the Navy, the Air Force, dozens of departments and commands of various levels, commanders of divisions, brigades, flotillas, units and formations are subordinate to the Chief of the General Staff .
The commanders of military districts, the heads of numerous departments and commands, as well as the heads of the Shin Bet counterintelligence and the foreign intelligence of the Mosad, are part of the General Staff Forum, which unites all the top military leadership of Israel, headed by the Chief of the General Staff ..

Get in line!

In Israel, in accordance with the Law on General Conscription, the entire population over the age of 18, with some exceptions, is subject to conscription for active military service. However, preparation for military service begins long before the call.

Primary military training of schoolchildren is carried out within the framework of the youth paramilitary organization GADNA (an abbreviation of the Hebrew words "Youth battalions"). At the head of the GADNA is a command from among the regular officers of the Israeli army, coordinating their activities with the Ministry of Education. The service of the senior officer of the General Staff for the education of youth directly manages this process.

Every year, high school students go through a two-week military training camp. They are led by officers and sergeants. During the training camp, schoolchildren receive army uniforms, they are given classes in shooting, physical and drill training. Considerable attention is paid to training in the field. At the end of the training camp, each student undergoes an attestation, at which conclusions are given on the level of training and recommendations on choosing an army specialty. The aviation and naval sections also operate within the framework of the GADN.

For adolescents aged 13-15 (both boys and girls) who decide to receive professional training in military specialties, there is a whole network of cadet corps. These include numerous colleges of the Air Force, the Armaments Service, the Navy, where future army and navy specialists are trained. The oldest military educational institution of this profile is the College of Naval Officers in Akko, opened in 1938. Cadets who complete the college course are drafted into the army, where they serve in the acquired specialties. The best graduates can continue their studies at universities where they receive their first academic degree.

A special place among military educational institutions for teenagers is occupied by the Command Preparatory College, which trains commanders for the infantry and airborne troops, founded in 1953. Cadets of this profile receive versatile combat command training. A specific feature of their studies is the constant participation in military exercises as part of military units, where they train as ordinary soldiers and commanders of squads and platoons.

Upon reaching the age of 18, all Israelis of both sexes are subject to conscription into the army. Common to all is the passage of the course of a young soldier (tironut), the duration and complexity of which depend on the type of troops to which the conscript is sent. Conventionally, all military specialties are divided into combat, related to the performance of combat missions, and logistic support specialties. In combat units, the tironut lasts up to six months, in the rear - one month. At the end of the tironut, soldiers are assigned a combat training index (“rowai”). The value of the index is determined by the level of combat training: for example, a soldier-infantryman can have a Rowai value of 05. The index of combat training increases with additional courses.

For soldiers of combat units, the next stage of combat training is an advanced training course that lasts several months. The most trained fighters then go through the course of sergeants and only the best graduates of the course of sergeants can be assigned to officer courses. Thus, it is obligatory for officer candidates to pass all stages of soldier's service directly in the troops, and the total duration can reach from one to one and a half years. All this time, the soldier combines training with service in his military units.

Who gets officer epaulettes

Special attention has always been paid to the issue of officer training in Israel. The first head of government, David Ben-Gurion, formulated this task as follows: “We need a select and highly professional officer corps, who are fluent in the science of winning. It is necessary that the best representatives of our youth, possessing high intelligence and devoted to the ideals of the first builders of our state, devote their lives to serving the Motherland in the ranks of the armed forces.”

Unlike Russia, where officer cadres are trained in schools from yesterday's school graduates, in Israel the path to officer epaulettes lies only through soldier service. Only the best soldiers and sergeants who have passed a thorough selection are allowed to take examinations for admission to officer courses. Strict requirements are imposed on potential candidates: a certificate of secondary education is mandatory, the candidate must have a high coefficient of intellectual and physical development, which consists of 27 parameters, pass exams and medical examinations, and also receive recommendations from their direct commanders.

Officer courses are located at the training bases of the military branches and military formations. The duration of study ranges from 6 months for infantry platoon commanders to 20 months for naval officers. Only in the Air Force Academy, where Air Force pilots are trained, the training period is 3 years and at the end of the graduates, along with the officer rank, the first academic degree is awarded.

Training in officer courses, due to their short duration, is characterized by high intensity and requires maximum moral and physical efforts from cadets. Those who cannot cope with such loads are waiting for immediate deduction from the course. The entire training system is inextricably linked with the solution of real combat missions; cadets spend a significant part of their time in the field and in exercises, where the theoretical knowledge gained is immediately consolidated. Emphasis is placed on mastering the practical skills of commanding subunits by future officers.

Girls are trained on a par with boys. Until recently, there was a separate training base of the Women's Corps, where various women's officer courses trained officers from among the girls serving in the military. However, after the separate Women's Corps was disbanded in 2001, they were merged with the existing officer courses, and now the girls are trained on a general basis. Companies and battalions of mixed composition are formed from cadets of both sexes.

For the training of specialist officers with higher education, the IDF operates the Atuda program. Under this program, a deferment is given to students of civilian higher educational institutions studying in specialties needed by the army, as a rule, technical and medical profiles. Students sign an agreement under which they undertake to serve in the army after graduation for at least five years. Over the years of study, students enrolled in this program are periodically drafted into the army, where they take a monthly course for a young fighter, as well as a basic officer course. There are no analogues of military departments in Israeli universities.

The condition for the successful promotion of an officer in the service is the obligatory passage of courses corresponding to positions of various commanding levels. The IDF has an extensive system of military educational institutions in which such training is carried out.

Promising young officers who are promoted to command companies are trained at the Command Tactical College. A prerequisite for studying there is the signing of an agreement on military service for 4-5 years after graduating from this college. Future battalion commanders are trained at the Command and Staff College.

Along with receiving education in military schools, the IDF has a practice of sending officers to receive academic education in civilian universities, both in Israel and abroad. It is believed that the presence of officers in an atmosphere of academic freedom, in the absence of army subordination, develops initiative and contributes to the adoption of non-standard decisions.

Ground troops

The IDF ground forces include paratroopers, motorized infantry and tank divisions, and a marine division. In the course of hostilities, mixed corps may be formed from divisions.
The armored forces, the main strike force of the IDF ground forces, are considered one of the largest in the world - it is known that about 4,000 tanks are now in service with the IDF. This is much more than, for example, in the armies of such countries as Great Britain, France and Germany. The main part of the tank fleet is Israeli-made Merkava tanks.

The armored forces of the IDF were born in the battles of the War of Independence, which began immediately after the founding of the state of Israel in May 1948. During the war, the army of the young Jewish state repulsed the aggression of the regular armies of eight Arab countries and achieved a crushing victory.

The commander of the first tank unit, the 82nd tank battalion, was a former Red Army major, Felix Beatus, who traveled the roads of the Great Patriotic War from Stalingrad to Berlin. There were "English" and "Russian" companies in the battalion. So they were called according to the languages ​​spoken by the tankers - Jewish volunteers from around the world. Most of the fighters of the "Russian" company were tank officers of the Red Army and the Polish Army, who managed to get to the newly created Jewish state.

The first combat vehicles of Israeli tankers were captured tanks, which were captured during the fighting in northern Israel. Then tanks purchased from abroad began to arrive. Already by the middle of 1948, the 7th and 8th tank brigades were formed, which took part in the battles.

In those years, the doctrine of tank warfare, adopted by the IDF, began to take shape. It was based on the following principles. The first one is "Totality of the tank". This means that tank formations are capable of independently solving the main tasks of a land war. The second one is "Bronekulak" as the main tank maneuver", which consisted in introducing large tank forces into the breakthrough, capable of conducting an offensive at high speed, destroying enemy forces in its path.

The first combat test of this doctrine took place during the Sinai campaign of 1956. In three days, the 7th and 27th tank brigades, interacting with infantry and parachute units, broke into the enemy defenses and, having passed the Sinai desert, reached the Suez Canal. During the fighting, up to 600 enemy armored vehicles were destroyed or captured, Israeli losses amounted to 30 tanks and armored personnel carriers.

An analysis of tank battles showed a high percentage of casualties among tank commanders. This was due to the implementation of the code of command honor adopted in the Israeli army. According to him, the main command in the IDF is "Follow me!" - The commander is obliged by personal example to lead his subordinates. During the battles, tank commanders controlled the battle directly from open hatches and therefore often died from enemy fire.

The Six Day War of 1967 was a true triumph for the Israeli tank forces. For the first time, tank formations operated simultaneously on three fronts. They were opposed by the many times superior forces of the five Arab states, but this did not save the Arabs from total defeat.

On the southern front, the blow was delivered by the forces of three tank divisions of Generals Tal, Sharon and Ioffe. In the offensive operation, called the "March across the Sinai", Israeli tank formations, interacting with aviation, motorized infantry and paratroopers, made a lightning breakthrough of the enemy's defenses and moved through the desert, destroying the encircled groups of Arabs.

On the northern front, the 36th Panzer Division of General Peled advanced along the difficult mountain paths, which, after three days of fierce fighting, reached the outskirts of Damascus. On the eastern front, Israeli troops knocked out Jordanian units from Jerusalem. During the fighting, more than 1,200 enemy tanks were destroyed, thousands of armored vehicles were captured.

The most difficult test for Israel was the Yom Kippur War, which began on October 6, 1973, on the day of one of the most important Jewish holidays, when most military personnel were on vacation. Israel was suddenly attacked on all fronts by the many times superior forces of the aggressors. In the vastness from Sinai to the Golan Heights, one of the largest tank battles in world military history unfolded - up to six thousand tanks took part in it on both sides.

A particularly dangerous situation developed on the Golan Heights - there only 200 tanks of the 7th and 188th tank brigades opposed almost 1,400 Syrian tanks over a 40-kilometer stretch. Israeli tankers fought to the death, demonstrating mass heroism. The tankers fought to the last shell, from the tankers who survived the battle, who had just left the burning tanks, new crews were immediately formed, which again went into battle on repaired combat vehicles. The platoon commander, Lieutenant Gringold, during the battle, which lasted a day, burned three times in tanks, but each time he again went into battle in new vehicles. Being shell-shocked and wounded, he did not leave the battlefield and destroyed up to 30 enemy tanks.

The Israeli tankers survived and won, the 210th Panzer Division, under the command of General Dan Laner, arrived in time to defeat the enemy on the Golan Heights. During the fighting, the Iraqi tank corps, which was sent to help the Syrians, was also defeated. Israeli troops launched a counteroffensive and on October 14 were already in the suburbs of Damascus.

An equally fierce tank battle took place in the sands of Sinai, where the Arabs at first managed to push back parts of the 252nd Panzer Division of General Mendler. General Mendler died in battle, but stopped the further advance of the enemy. On October 7, the 162nd Panzer Division under the command of General Bren and the 143rd Panzer Division under the command of General Ariel Sharon entered the battle.

During heavy tank battles, the main forces of the Arabs were destroyed. On October 14, the largest oncoming battle of tank formations since the Second World War took place, "tanks against tanks", in which up to 800 tanks participated from both sides. Israeli tankers lost 40 of their combat vehicles, enemy losses amounted to 360 tanks.

On October 16, 1973, the Israeli tank forces launched a counteroffensive. General Sharon's tankers broke through the front, set up a pontoon ferry across the Suez Canal, and Israeli tanks poured onto the African coast. In the ensuing battles, the 3rd Egyptian army was surrounded, and a direct road was opened for the Israeli troops to attack Cairo.

During the fierce tank battles of the Yom Kippur War, Israeli tank forces once again proved their superiority: more than 2,500 enemy tanks and thousands of other armored vehicles were destroyed in the battles. However, a high price had to be paid for the victory - hundreds of heroically fighting Israeli tankers died in the battles.

One of the results of the past wars was the creation of our own tank, in which the requirements of Israeli tankers for a combat vehicle were most fully implemented and their combat experience was taken into account. Another reason that prompted the creation of the Israeli tank industry was the embargo on the supply of military equipment, introduced by foreign manufacturers every time a war broke out.

At the head of the Israeli tank project was General Israel Tal, a combat tank officer, commander-in-chief of the armored forces. Under his leadership, in just a few years, the project of the first Israeli tank "Merkava-1" was created, which already in 1976 was put into mass production at Israeli tank factories. The first Merkava tanks were equipped with a tank battalion commanded by the son of General Tal. The Merkava tank is recognized as one of the best tanks in the world. Now the fourth generation of Merkava tanks is being produced.

Air Force

The Israeli Air Force (in Hebrew - "Heil Avir") includes dozens of squadrons of fighter, military transport, naval aviation, an electronic warfare squadron, "flying tankers" tankers, combat helicopters for various purposes. The number of modern supersonic fighter-bombers alone reaches almost 800 aircraft. In terms of the number of combat aircraft, the Israeli Air Force is second only to the United States, but in terms of flight training and combat skills, Israeli pilots are considered the best in the West. Suffice it to say that the annual flight time of Israeli pilots reaches 250 hours, while for NATO pilots this figure does not exceed 180 hours. It is important to note that the skills of Israeli pilots are honed not in training battles, but in performing real combat missions during wars.

In air battles, Israeli aces shot down 686 enemy aircraft, losing only 23 of their own. The history of military victories of the Israeli air force dates back to June 3, 1948. On this day, squadron commander Moddy Alon shot down two enemy Dakota bombers in the sky over Tel Aviv, which were going to bomb densely populated quarters of the city, in a Messerschmitt fighter.

The Israeli Air Force was created in the battles of the War of Independence. The young Jewish state did not yet have either aircraft or trained personnel, and Israeli cities and villages were already subjected to enemy air raids. The first aircraft were purchased in Czechoslovakia. They were delivered by air to Israel, assembled directly at the airfields, and the pilots went into battle on new combat vehicles. During the air battles, Israeli pilots seized air supremacy and shot down 18 enemy aircraft. Bomb strikes were carried out on combat positions and rear facilities of the enemy.

Since then, the purpose of the Israeli Air Force has been to gain air supremacy and protect the population of Israel and its armed forces from attacks by enemy armies and terrorist groups.

The combat operations of the Israeli Air Force are based on a whole range of strategic plans, tactical and aerobatic techniques, initiative and a non-trivial approach to solving combat missions at all levels: from ordinary pilots to air force commanders. This principle was fully revealed in the Six Day War of 1967.

On June 5, at 0745, the Israeli Air Force attacked along the entire front. Their plan of action was to strike at air bases and destroy all enemy combat aircraft on the ground. Instead of flying straight at their targets, the first wave of Israeli planes flew into the open sea, turned around and at low altitude, over the crests of the waves, approached from the west - not at all from the direction from which the Egyptians expected to attack. Having destroyed 300 out of 320 Egyptian planes right on the airfields, the Israelis immediately proceeded to destroy the air forces of other Arab states, united in a single alliance against Israel. After crushing blows, the air forces of Iraq, Jordan and Syria were destroyed. In air battles, Israeli pilots shot down another sixty enemy aircraft.

The Commander-in-Chief of the Israeli Air Force, General Mordechai Hod, said at the time: “Sixteen years of planning are reflected in these exciting eighty hours. We lived this plan, we went to bed and ate, thinking about it. Finally, we made it." The secret of this victory lies primarily in the highest combat skills of pilots and ground personnel - many pilots made 4-6 sorties a day.

The 21st century air war strategy was tested by the Israeli Air Force in 1982 in Operation Peace for Galilee, which aimed to repel terrorist attacks on Israel's northern borders. On June 9, 1982, Israeli intelligence discovered an enemy grouping of troops in the Lebanese Bekaa Valley, which was protected by twenty battalions of anti-aircraft missile systems and aviation.
Dozens of Israeli planes were immediately taken into the air to conduct air battles and strike at ground targets. Aircraft were also in the air with radar stations that tracked the flights of enemy aircraft, and aircraft for electronic warfare, which suppressed enemy communications and control systems. For the purposes of reconnaissance and target designation, for the first time in world combat practice, the Israelis actively used UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles)
Air battles were controlled in real time - all electronic information about the enemy flowed to the control centers of the Israeli headquarters, from where television instructions were immediately sent directly to the Israeli pilots. The result of the air battle in the Bekaa Valley speaks for itself - the Israeli Air Force destroyed dozens of aircraft and anti-aircraft missile systems of the enemy, without losing a single aircraft.

Pilots are the elite of the Israeli army. In military aviation, it is customary to award the honorary title of "ace" to pilots who shot down five or more enemy aircraft in aerial combat. There are now more than forty such pilots in the Israeli Air Force. Israeli Air Force Colonel Giora Epstein shot down 17 enemy supersonic aircraft in air combat and is considered the most productive ace in the West.

Air Force pilots are trained at the Air Force Academy. The selection of candidates begins from the school bench in the aviation clubs of the aviation section of the GADNA. Numerous tests make it possible to reveal not only the physical and intellectual abilities of the future cadet, but also his leadership qualities, as well as the ability to be a member of the crew and work as part of a group. Those who pass this stage of testing will have a week-long test for survival in extreme situations. Only those who have overcome all these barriers begin to master flight skills. Until recently, there were no women among combat pilots. However, now this barrier has also been broken - the first female cadet of the Air Force Academy was eighteen-year-old Ellis Miller, who passed all the admission tests along with the guys.

The three-year course of study consists of several stages. Initially, there is a distribution of cadets according to flight specialties - someone will have to become a pilot, someone - a navigator or flight engineer. In the future, future fighter pilots, pilots of transport aircraft and helicopters are singled out from among the cadets. Throughout the entire period of training, the cadets are in a situation of severe pressure and high loads, the competitive spirit is stimulated in every possible way - after all, only 10% of the cadets will eventually become professional combat pilots. The slogan "Only the best pilots" symbolizes the philosophy of the Israeli Air Force.

Navy

The main theater of combat operations of the Israeli Navy are the waters of the Mediterranean and the Red Seas, where the main Israeli naval bases are located. Organizationally, the Israeli Navy consists of flotillas and squadrons, uniting warships of various classes.

The flotilla of missile-carrying ships includes divisions of high-speed missile corvettes and frigates of the "Saar" type, armed with powerful anti-ship missile systems "Barak", "Harpoon", "Gabriel". Ships of this class are equipped with helipads and are capable of carrying combat helicopters.

The submarine flotilla is playing an increasingly important role in the navy. It includes three submarines of the Gal type, built in the UK according to a German project, as well as new submarines built in Germany - Dolphin, Leviathan and Tecuma, which are considered the best in the world in their class. In the near future, the fleet should be replenished with two or three more submarines of this class. They can make autonomous voyages to any area of ​​the World Ocean. According to foreign press reports, they are armed with cruise missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads.

The squadron of patrol ships is armed with high-speed boats of the Dabur and Dvora types, created at the enterprises of the Israeli industry. This squadron performs combat missions to protect the Israeli sea coast from terrorist attacks from the sea. The Navy also has a large number of auxiliary ships - landing ships capable of taking on board tank and infantry units, tankers, rescue ships.

A special place in the fleet is occupied by the 13th flotilla - the naval commando flotilla. It is designed to carry out sabotage and landing operations directly on the enemy coast. The fighters of this flotilla carried out dozens of attacks on enemy naval bases, culminating in the sinking of enemy ships right in their bases. The 13th flotilla includes unique surface and submarine ships capable of covert transfer of fighters to any given point.

Israel is a world leader in the development and combat use of a new class of maritime weapons - anti-ship missiles and maritime electronic warfare systems. The development of missiles began at Israeli military factories in 1955, when the first Luz anti-ship missile was created. The decision to create missile-carrying boats was made in 1960 at a meeting of the General Staff of the Navy, where the Israeli naval doctrine was discussed. The next generation of anti-ship missiles, the Gabriel, entered the fleet before the 1967 war. They were armed with Israeli ships that inflicted a crushing defeat on the enemy during the naval battles of the 1973 Yom Kippur War.

In this war, the Navy successfully completed all the tasks assigned to it - during naval battles and attacks by naval saboteurs, up to forty warships of the enemy were sunk.
On October 6, 1973, on the second day of the Yom Kippur War, a squadron of missile carriers left the naval base in Haifa and moved in two wake columns towards the Syrian coast. The purpose of the squadron, flying under the flag of Rear Admiral M. Barkai, was to destroy enemy ships in the area of ​​the Syrian naval base of Latakia. In the ensuing battle, the opposing sides used sea-based missiles of the sea-to-sea class for the first time in world naval history. The result of this sea battle was the destruction of five enemy missile-carrying ships by Israeli missiles, the Israeli fleet did not suffer losses.

The personnel of the Israeli Navy is recruited on the basis of conscription. There is one exception - only volunteers go to naval commandos and submariners. Numerous Navy schools train naval specialists, command staff graduate from officer schools and technical universities. There is a high percentage of re-enlisted foremen who are true aces in their field and keepers of maritime traditions. Women serve in the Navy on a par with men, among them are graduates of officer schools and commanders of warships. Perhaps only in the crews of submarines is patriarchy still preserved. Naval traditions are sacredly observed. For example, when returning with a victory to the home base, it is supposed to fix mops on the masts - according to the number of enemy ships sunk in a military campaign.

The Israeli army or the Tsakhal is a powerful shield that ensures the security of the state and its population, and is one of the largest armies in the world. It started in 1948 with the signing of the Israel Defense Forces Decree. The entire army system is built on military doctrine. The doctrine of the Israeli army was developed in 1949, but even now it has not lost its relevance.

Its main provisions are:

1. Israel is outnumbered by its neighbors, so it must be ready to fight for its territories.
2. Disputes with neighboring states are just a response to the enemy's rejection of the existence of the Jewish state and its freedom.
3. The small territory of the country does not allow the deployment of a full-scale operation.
4. Israel does not have the ability to wage a long war, in which case a large-scale mobilization of the population will eat up the economy in a matter of days.

During its existence, the Israeli army has shown its vast experience in serving, all conflicts and military operations have been successfully won. The composure and readiness of the army is also shown by the fact that in the event of a direct threat, a complete mobilization of the entire military personnel can occur within 24 hours. It is the only army in the world that recruits exclusively on a conscription basis and in which about 35% of women serve. The equipment of the army is at the highest level, only modern equipment and weapons, nuclear warheads and submarines. Funding for the needs of the army is about 15 billion. dollars.

As you know, the patriotism of the Israeli people is developed to colossal heights, so the younger generation goes to serve in the army at the call of the heart. The entire population of Israel is liable for military service and falls under mandatory conscription from the age of 18. Both boys and girls serve, there are no divisions between them, there are mixed battalions such as "Caracal". The only difference is that girls can refuse to serve in combat units, choose a different direction. Also, girls do not serve in special forces. Service can be on a voluntary basis, and then as an instructor.

About 80% of the guys serve in the rank of fighter. Distribution criteria is the level of health. If everything is in order, then this is infantry or special forces, with an average level - these are tankers or artillery, for a weak level - this is air defense, paperwork or as a signalman. For guys with excellent knowledge of programming intelligence is open.

The duration of service is 36 months for the male population and 24 months for the female population. Officers serve a little longer, men 48 months and women 36 months.

Mostly Jews, also Druze and Circassians, serve in the Israeli army, the rest of the population can go on a voluntary basis. Girls who got married before the start of the call or for health reasons are not subject to the call. Religious girls also do not serve in the army, but they are required to work for the benefit of the army for 2 years, for the salary of an army man. Namely, work in hospitals, helping wounded soldiers, or caring for lonely pensioners or children.

Mostly, ultra-orthodox Jews, who study in religious schools almost all their lives, do not serve. But there are those who prefer to give back to their homeland. For such citizens there are three religious battalions, their difference is only in the teachings of the Torah, and everything is like everyone else.

Men receive a deferment due to serious illnesses or while studying at a university, but these are mainly students who have chosen technical specialties and doctors. Humanitarians rarely get a reprieve. For teenagers who want to connect their lives with the army, there is an opportunity to study at cadet schools. Officers are trained in higher military institutions.

For repatriates who, at the time of arrival in Israel, are under 18 years old and at least 12 months have passed from the date of repatriation, they are doing military service on an equal footing with the rest of the conscripts of the Israeli state.

Since 2016, the ministry of aliyah has decided not to take on the service of repatriates who arrived in Israel after 22-26 years old, before such citizens served for about six months. Women are exempted from service if they arrive at the age of 20.

This decision of the ministry is due to the fact that it was the compulsory military service that was an obstacle for some repatriates to make aliyah earlier. For citizens who still wish to serve, there will be no barriers. Each recruit is assigned an individual term of service. Upon receipt of the summons (tsav rishon), which indicates the date of visiting the collection point, the recruit will undergo a test of mental abilities, and his state of health will be assessed there. At the medical examination, weight, height, and pressure are measured. Eye and hearing screening and all vaccinations. Collection of all necessary analyses. Full personal information will also be collected - this is an identity card, registration address, telephone number, and if higher education is received, then a document confirming this fact.

The exam is taken in Hebrew orally and in writing, with its help they will be distributed among the structural units of the army. It is also necessary to pass a psychometric test for logic and thinking. When passing a medical commission, an appropriate health assessment is assigned, which also affects the distribution. A month later, another interview is held.

There are also special courses for new repatriates - Nativ and Eitan, they help to study Jewish culture, religion and customs, there is a Hebrew course.

Benefits for repatriates in the army

Returnee soldiers are entitled to benefits, additional leave and allowances from the Ministry of Aliyah. There are benefits for lone soldiers who do not see their parents for 9 months a year, or if the parents have died. Also, allowances are paid for paying for rented housing and paying for communal services. You can get help for the wedding. For soldiers whose service life was more than 12 months, various incentives are provided. This is the payment of cash benefits, the amount depends on the type of troops, various discounts and benefits when buying air tickets, paying for treatment, and reducing income tax. A deposit is also provided for a personal account, for buying a home or starting a business. However, there is still control over these funds, if a fighter uses this money for other purposes, a fine is due.

Help in finding a job, because many employers, when hiring a person, pay special attention to the mark of military service. In the absence of it, they may refuse. Additional leave is possible once a year. A repatriate can serve in any branch of the military, it depends on his physical fitness, health, education.

It is worth noting that only those soldiers who received the highest scores for all selection criteria can serve in the so-called elite troops. If a soldier is the only child in the family, then without the written consent of his parents, he will not be taken to combat units. For single soldiers or new arrivals from afar, there is also a hostel, which provides everything for a comfortable life. Comfortable rooms with a set of furniture and appliances, a dining room, a computer room, a laundry.

The initial stage of service - tyrant

Common to all recruits is the course of a young fighter (tyrant), the duration depends on the type of troops, basically lasts up to 3 months. This is a very difficult period, due to a sharp increase in physical activity. This is necessary in order to make excellent soldiers out of boys and girls as quickly as possible. This course includes crosses, hikes, forced marches, learn to shoot, drive a tank and just survive in difficult conditions. There is personal time, the soldiers communicate with each other, watch films or just relax.

At the end of the young soldier's course, all soldiers take an oath and an oath of allegiance to the people of Israel. The ceremony takes place near the Wailing Wall. Then everyone is transported to the places of deployment according to the distribution.

During the entire period of service, each soldier receives monetary compensation for his needs.

In the Israeli army, there is an active fight against hazing, each soldier can write a complaint against the commander in case of prejudice, there is a special person for this. Service in the army is paid, the amount depends on the military specialty, sometimes they are encouraged after a military operation has been completed. The Israeli army protects the life and health of its subordinates. But if suddenly a soldier is injured or disabled during a combat operation, then he switches to full state support and assistance.

Meals for Israeli soldiers

According to the laws of religion, even in the army, the rules of kashrut are observed. Since 2006 funding has been increased and consequently the menu has become more varied. It is worth noting that nutritionists and army doctors are developing the menu for soldiers, taking into account all the norms and rules of proper and healthy nutrition, which can restore strength and maintain a healthy spirit.

For each type of troops, calories are counted, combat units receive a more high-calorie menu. Three meals a day with snacks. Dairy products are fat-free and served for breakfast.

In the diet of fighters for lunch, chicken, turkey or beef, there is fish. Large selection of vegetable salads. Hot soup is served daily. Dinner is light, mostly vegetable dishes. For dessert, waffles, buns, always fresh fruit. Juices, water, coffee and cocoa. For snacks, dry fruits, nuts, cereal mixes or bars. When collecting or hiking, everyone gets a dry bed. There is also a festive menu, it is even more diverse.

Reserve Service

Each soldier after the end of the main service, receives a referral to one of the reserve units. Every year, such reservists undergo 45 days of training, they are mandatory until the age of 45. Women are exempt from these fees.

army prison

An army prison is also provided, deserters and violators of the law fall into it. Refuseniks in Israel are a separate issue, many soldiers refuse to follow the orders of their commanders. Basically, this happens in dissimilar political views.

Just recently, about 200 recruits who were assigned to the infantry refused to go to their bases. This case was unheard of in the history of the Israeli army. This state of affairs can greatly affect the security of the state. Concerned ministers introduce a series of reforms.

Structure of the Israeli army

The Israeli army consists of three large structures - the ground forces, the air force and the navy. According to the latest data, the size of the army is about 720,000 people, more than half are reserve personnel, 187 thousand are regular military personnel.

Ground troops

The ground forces consist of military districts: Northern, Central and Southern. They include parachute troops, tank divisions, motorized infantry and marine divisions. When carrying out operations, mixed divisions are also made.

About 176 thousand people serve in the ground forces, 380 thousand in the reserve. They receive the most funding from the state. The head of the command is Major General Gobi Barak. The infantry, in turn, consists of regular brigades, battalions. Special forces units were separated in 2015 (Egoz, Duvdevan, Maglan, Rimon, Okets (canine service).

There are three separate battalions: Caracal, Kherev (mostly Druze serve), Bedouin Pathfinders. The armored forces consist of brigades, there are 4 of them. An important feature is that the percentage of female military personnel in the tank forces is much higher.

The artillery consists of three regiments: Amud haesh, Golan, Kal'a David. The engineering troops have 4 battalions, one of which is Yanfush, which is engaged in protection against nuclear, biological and chemical weapons and special forces Yahalom.

Intelligence is the three battalions of Shahaf, Nitzan, Nesher. In service with a large number of tanks, namely 2030 pcs. tanks of the Merkava type, armored personnel carriers and infantry fighting vehicles with an improved chassis protection system, there are no analogues in the world. Also artillery guns of various calibers, self-propelled guns, anti-aircraft guns, mortars.

Every year, the armament is improving and undergoing modernization, the tank fleet is being updated, even the ammunition is undergoing a number of updates, the mobility of artillery fire is improving, due to the introduction of radio electronics.

Israeli Air Force

The Israeli Air Force is 4 types of aviation: fighter, tactical, transport intelligence. The total number of military personnel is 34 thousand people and 55 thousand in reserve. The head is Major General Amir - Eshel.

The fighters are considered one of the strongest and most trained in the world, they have the largest number of flights. Being an aviation pilot is also prestigious, many recruits dream of getting here.

The air force consists of 6 directorates, several professional headquarters, such as the headquarters of the air defense forces, the headquarters of the special air forces, the Shaydag special unit. The troops of this unit work on high-tech equipment, assisting the Air Force in reconnaissance, aiming aircraft at a target and assisting injured pilots. A large number of military operations involving Shaydag were crowned with success.

The total number of airfields is 57, the length of which is from 900 to 3000 m. Fighter air bases, helipads, aircraft squadrons are always in full combat readiness.

Main bases: Ramat David, Sdot Micha, Hatzor, Hatzerim, Tel Nof, Ovda, Haifa, Ramon, Nevatim. The air defense system consists of 500pcs. MANPADS "Stinger" and 400pcs. ZRPK "Macbeth". A significant part of the Israeli Air Force consists of F15 and F16 fighters, all of them manufactured by the USA. There are various modifications. There are combat attack aircraft 8 units of the brand AT802F - these are aircraft for extinguishing fires. There are old A-4N aircraft, 26 of them, 38 units are in storage - these are training aircraft. There are 7 RC-12D reconnaissance and tracking aircraft in service, two Gulfstream-550 aircraft are available, and one is in storage. 11 tankers and 70 for transport purposes.

The training aircraft include "Grob-120" made in Germany, there are 120 of them. There are also 20 pieces. combat training TA-4, (4 pieces in reserve) and one Italian novice M-346. Combat helicopters: AN-64 "Apache" 50 of them, AN-1 "Cobra" 54 pcs., transport helicopters and helicopters for various purposes of the OH-58 V type, 19 of them. (one in reserve), CH-53 A 10 of them. (8pcs in reserve), 39pcs S-72 A, 10 pcs. UH-60A 10 pcs.

Israel is the only state in the world that has a tactical missile defense system. It consists of three anti-missile batteries "Arrow" and one "Iron" systems of their own design. Israeli air defense is 17 pieces. US-made batteries "Hawk" and 6 pcs. "Patriot".

On the basis of Haifa there is a school of pilots and technical specialties. On the basis of Hatzerim there is a flight academy for the training of officers, an aviation museum.

Israeli Navy

The head of administration is Vice Admiral Eli Sharvit. In his submission to the management of the Navy. They are divided into the following types: headquarters, naval operations, intelligence, logistics, personnel management. Each of them is engaged in solving various tasks and constantly monitors their implementation.

There are also two departments - underwater detection and port security. Each unit includes fleets and training bases. There are three naval bases - Haifa, Eilat, Ashdod. Locations: Akko, Atlit, Ashkelon, Dimona. There are also special forces or Shayetet 13. Considered the elite of the Navy, those wishing to serve in this flotilla undergo the most severe control and must meet high requirements. Be physically prepared and psychologically resistant to various emergency situations. The main task of this special unit is to work behind enemy lines, both on land and on water. Data on abundance and on the main composition are kept secret.

Only 12 thousand people serve in the Navy units. Both boys and girls serve. The Navy performs the following tasks: control and protection of the coastal zone, protection of communications and ports, combat operations against enemy ships, in case of violations, assistance to ground forces, blocking the coastal zone of the enemy.

The submarines "Dolphin" and "Crocodile", corvettes, patrol and missile boats are in service. Artillery shells, small arms and cannons, Gatling guns, rocket and torpedo weapons, anti-ship missiles of the Harpoon type. Every year, the Israeli fleet acquires more and more advanced ships. The Navy has 3 corvettes Saar 5, missile boats Saar 4.5, patrol boats Dabur, Super Dvora, Shaldag, Nakhshol, only about 46 units. Adopted a new battleship "Deborah" from the Israeli military industry.

Israeli missiles and nuclear weapons

According to the latest data, there are about 400 nuclear weapons, warheads, and air bombs in Israel. Hetz-2 is an anti-missile system, Jericho is a ballistic missile, Gabriel is an anti-ship cruise missile, Kepat Barzel is an anti-missile defense system. Also in Israel they create combat robots for various purposes.

Israeli intelligence - Saeret Matkal

The special unit under the General Staff - Saeret Matkal (intelligence) was created in 1957. Service in this division is the most prestigious. However, to join its ranks, it is necessary to go through the most severe course of a young fighter. The final, which is a 100km desert cross.

For a long time there was no information about him. And only now some facts are emerging. The fighters participated in more than 1000 operations, and also operates outside the country. They speak foreign languages ​​and dialects. This team consists of experts from various disciplines. Combat groups are ready for an assault and the release of hostages, they conduct operations on the high seas. Trained in diving techniques and working at great depths. The main type of weapon is small arms. Various types of rifles and machine guns.

In November 2016, a proposal was made that only officers should serve in this unit. Fighters who do not have such a rank will undergo special training courses. The service will be extended. The Ministry of Defense explains this fact by the fact that the equipment for work and the technologies that soldiers use require a high level of training, knowledge and skills.

Foreign citizens in the service of the Israeli army

Foreigners can serve as volunteers. However, for this it is necessary to have Jewish roots. The program to attract volunteers is called Mahal. Under this program, boys and girls from all over the world can experience the atmosphere of the Israeli army. To do this, you must provide a letter of recommendation from the community of Jews from the place of permanent residence. Further, after confirmation, the recruit arrives in Israel 6 weeks before the expected start of the service in order to resolve all organizational issues, undergo a medical examination and take a Hebrew course. Then, as with ordinary military men, the course of a young fighter awaits the volunteer. The general term of service is 14 months in the ranks of the army. After the end of the service, during the year you must work as a volunteer in your community.

Israeli military industry

Israel's military industry has a high level of production. They make military equipment, not only for their own needs, but also actively export it. Drones, various communication systems, rocket launchers, ammunition, and various avionics for aircraft are in demand.

The Army of Israel is the highest school of life for young men and women. It brings up fortitude and endurance. He makes high-class specialists out of the most ordinary guys, who in the army gain not only experience in conducting combat operations, but also make new friends.

The geographical position of Eretz-Israel, which is a key one in the entire Middle East, has made the State of Israel one of the centers of world geopolitics since its inception. Israel's location, combined with its military potential, makes it the dominant military-political factor in the Eastern Mediterranean region. If necessary, Israel can serve as a strategic base for the defense of the southern flank of NATO, block the main routes to South and East Asia, in particular the Suez Canal; within reach from Israeli territory is almost half of the oil resources of the Western world, concentrated in a triangle between Libya in the west, Iran in the east and Saudi Arabia in the south.

Successful raids from Israel into Uganda (Operation Entebbe to free the passengers of the Air France aircraft taken hostage on July 4, 1976) and Iraq (bombing of a nuclear reactor on June 7, 1981) once again showed the importance of Israel as an operational base , allowing the Air Force stationed here to effectively control vast areas of the Middle East and East Africa.

Unusually high - compared to the size of the country and population - Israel's military potential is the result of the need to counter the permanent military threat from the Arab countries. The feeling that the armed forces of the Jewish state are preserving the ancient tradition of Jewish warriors - Yehoshua bin Nun, King David, the Maccabees (see Hasmoneans), the defenders of Masada and the fighters of Bar Kokhba (see the Bar Kokhba uprising) - and the awareness of the inadmissibility of repeating the tragic experience of centuries galut, when the Jewish people were defenseless in the face of their enemies, contribute to the education of the Israeli soldier of high motivation and consciousness of historical responsibility to the Jewish people and its state. Other factors in the high combat capability of the Israeli army include an effective military infrastructure, technological capabilities that no other country in the world commensurate with Israel has, and a wealth of combat experience. At the same time, the insignificance of the territory and limited human resources, the concentration of the population in a limited number of urban centers, long borders and the lack of strategic raw materials make Israel militarily vulnerable.

Flag of the Israel Defense Forces

Israel Defense Forces Organization

According to the Law on Conscription of 1986, active service, and upon completion of it, annual military training (milluim) are mandatory. Boys serve 3 years and girls serve 2 years. A deferment from conscription can be granted to especially successful students of higher educational institutions (within the so-called academic reserve, atuda academic). Repatriates may also be granted a deferment or reduction in service depending on age and marital status at the time of arrival in the country (girls who repatriated over the age of 17 are not subject to conscription; young people who arrived in the country over the age of 24 are not called up for emergency service). After completing their mandatory service, each soldier is assigned to a reserve unit. Men under the age of 51 serve no more than 39 days a year; this period may be extended in extraordinary circumstances. Recently, there has been a policy aimed at facilitating the service of reservists: reservists who served in combat units can retire at the age of 45. Upon completion of military service, persons of interest to the IDF may remain in the army on a contract basis. The core command and administrative personnel of the IDF are recruited from overtimers. Graduates of officer and flight courses, as well as special military-technical schools, are required to serve a specific (usually three-year) term under a contract.

The conscription of women is a specific feature of the Israel Defense Forces, which makes it possible to release a greater number of men for military service and thereby, to a certain extent, compensate for the numerical superiority of the armies of the Arab countries hostile to Israel. Women are employed in communications, maintenance of electronic equipment, assembling parachutes, in instructor, clerical and administrative positions, etc. Women serve in all branches of the military and many (mostly in long-term service) hold officer ranks and occupy responsible positions.

Compulsory military service applies to Jewish and Druze citizens of Israel; citizens of the Muslim and Christian faiths (Arabs and Bedouins) can enter the military service as volunteers. The voluntary service of the Bedouins is especially encouraged, whose tracking skills are used to protect the borders of the state and military installations. The number of Druze in active and extended service is very large compared to the size of the Druze community as a whole. Yeshiva students who have fully devoted themselves to religious studies, and girls from religious families (optional) are exempted from military service (or, like new repatriates, serve a shorter term than usual).

Military ranks in the Israel Defense Forces

Soldier: turai - private; turai rishon (tarash) - corporal; rav-turai (rabbat) - senior corporal; Rav Turai Rishon - junior sergeant; sammal - sergeant; sammal rishon - senior sergeant; rav-sammal--the foreman; rav-sammal rishon (rasar) - ensign. Officers: memale-maqom katsin (mamak) - sub-lieutenant; segen-mishne (sagam) - junior lieutenant; segen - lieutenant; seren - captain; rav-seren (resen) - major; sgan-alluf (sa'al) - lieutenant colonel; alluf-mishne (alam) - colonel; tat-alluf (ta'al) - brigadier general; alluf - major general; rav alluf - lieutenant general (general of the army). The rank of Rav-Alluf is only the Chief of the General Staff of the Israel Defense Forces.

IDF. Insignia

Army management

The Israel Defense Forces is subordinate to the Israeli government, represented by the Minister of Defense. The Ministry of Defense is responsible for long-term defense policy and strategic planning, determined by a special ministerial committee on defense affairs, and is in charge of the production and procurement of weapons. The Ministry has the largest departmental budget in the country.

The operational leadership of the armed forces is in the hands of the General Staff (ha-matte ha-klali), headed by the Chief of the General Staff (rosh ha-matte ha-klali, abbreviated as ramatkal), appointed by the Minister of Defense in agreement with the Cabinet of Ministers for three years (with the possibility renewal for a fourth year). The General Staff consists of six main directorates: the Main Operational Directorate; Main Intelligence Directorate; the Main Directorate of Personnel, responsible for the training of personnel, planning and implementation of mobilization; Main Directorate of Technology and Supply; Main Directorate of Research and Development of Armaments, Main Directorate of Planning. The structure of the General Staff of the Tsakhal also includes the Department of Combat Training and Special Operations. The rabbinate of the Israel Defense Forces provides for the religious needs of soldiers and officers. In the Israeli army, breaking the Sabbath is forbidden and the laws of kashrut are observed.

In operational terms, the armed forces are subdivided into three territorial districts (Northern, Central and Southern), and according to the types of troops - into land, air and naval forces.

National Army

The Israeli army has a relatively small number of regular soldiers and consists mainly of conscripts and reserves (the number of regular soldiers is relatively large in the Air Force and Navy). For this reason, the Israeli armed forces, unlike most other armies, do not form a closed professional corporation, but in the full sense of the word are a nationwide army. The consequence of this is the interest of the Israel Defense Forces in raising the professional and general educational level of the country's population. The mobilized receive in army technical schools the knowledge and skills necessary in modern military affairs; special educational programs are aimed at expanding and deepening the knowledge of soldiers in the field of Jewish history, geography, archeology of Israel, etc.; the army makes sure that new immigrants and recruits, whose formal education has not been completed, better master the skills of reading and writing; the army sends specially trained female instructors to development cities to eliminate educational disparities.

There are a number of special service programs in Tsakhal, including:

Yeshivot ha-hesder - a special version of military service, in which service is combined with studies in a yeshiva. This service is intended for pupils of yeshivot secondary schools (yeshivot tihniyot), conscripts of the Tsakhal. The term of such service is 4 years, including 16 months of military service, and the rest of the time is studying in a yeshiva. In August 2005, the number of soldiers and officers serving in the Tsakhal under this program reached six thousand people, 88% of them in combat units.

impudent - special regular units in which military service is combined with agricultural work in new settlements. Nahal strongholds are located along the borders and in kibbutzim; when the settlement created by Nahal is economically strong enough, the army turns it over to civilian authorities (see State of Israel. Jewish settlements in controlled territories). At the end of their service, the soldiers of Nahal can remain in its composition and continue to live in the settlement they founded. The service life for women is 23 months, for men - 40 months. The fighters of the Nahal units founded dozens of new settlements in the peripheral regions of the country.

Public pre-army service (shnat sherut - literally "year of service") - a deferment from military service for up to one year for boys and girls who volunteer to work as instructors in one of the youth movements (see the State of Israel. Youth movements) or engage in other recognized socially useful activities.

Pre-War Preparatory Courses (Mechinot kdam tzvayyot) - deferment from military service for up to one year as part of a secular or religious preparatory course.

The Israel Defense Forces operates hundreds of Gadna clubs (where no'ar - youth battalions), in which young people of pre-conscription age (mostly who have not completed formal education) undergo general education and military training. Many members of the organization take special courses for the preliminary training of pilots, sailors, paratroopers, etc.

The number and weapons of the Israel Defense Forces

In Israel, information of a defensive nature is not subject to publication; The data below are based primarily on the estimates of authoritative foreign sources, as well as Israeli researchers.

The number of Israeli armed forces with full mobilization (excluding territorial defense units, civil defense units, border and coast guards) is estimated at 631,000 people; about 186 thousand people are in active service.

A comparison of the number of soldiers and conscripts shows that the Egyptian army (450 thousand people) is 2.4 times larger than the Israeli one, and the Syrian army (289 thousand people) is 1.5 times larger. The superiority is partially corrected by the fact that the number of reservists in the Israeli army (445 thousand) exceeds the number of reservists in the Egyptian (254 thousand) and Syrian (132 thousand) armies combined. The troops of Jordan (101 thousand soldiers and officers of military service) and Lebanon (61 thousand) are inferior in size to the Israel Defense Forces.

The Israeli army is capable of mobilizing most of the reserve units in 24 hours, which to a certain extent compensates for Israel's strategic weaknesses - a small territory, a limited size of the regular army and long borders, allowing reinforcements to be delivered to the regular army units holding the front in a matter of hours. Other important aspects of the Israeli strategic doctrine, designed to solve the problem of a small country surrounded by a numerically superior enemy, are the offensive nature of hostilities, the transfer of hostilities to enemy territory and, if possible, moving them away from the country's borders, the rapid transfer of troops from front to front, the concentration maximum forces in the place of the main threat, the concentrated and coordinated use of the Air Force against the ground forces and rear of the enemy (which, among other things, reduces human losses), the delivery (in favorable political conditions) of preventive strikes, as well as the maximum use of technological achievements of the world and domestic military industry.

According to estimates for 2002 (more recent data has not yet been published), with full mobilization, the Israeli ground forces number about 521 thousand people (141 thousand military personnel in active service and 380 thousand reservists) - 16 divisions (including 12 armored), and also 76 brigades.

The Tsakhal is armed with 3930 (according to other sources - 3700) tanks - more than in the army of any of the countries bordering Israel (Syria - up to 3700, Egypt - about three thousand, Jordan - 970, Lebanon - 280), a significant some of which (about 1400) are Israeli-made Merkava tanks of models I, II, III and IV (after purchasing 300 units of M60A3 tanks in 1979, delivered in 1980-1985, Israel does not buy tanks abroad - update tank fleet is carried out at the expense of the production of "Merkava"). Israel has 8040 (according to other sources - 7710) armored personnel carriers and armored vehicles, most of the American production - more than in the army of any of the countries bordering Israel (Syria - about 5060, Egypt - 3680, Jordan - 1815, Lebanon - 1235 ). The artillery force has about 1350 guns, mostly self-propelled: heavy 203 mm howitzers (36 pieces) and long-range 175 mm caliber guns of American production (140 pieces), about 720 155 mm guns made in France according to an Israeli project, as well as a significant number captured Soviet guns of 130 and 122 mm caliber. A large number of mortars are in service, in particular, self-propelled guns of 160 mm caliber.

The armed forces of Israel are the main means for carrying out the aggressive policy of the government of this Zionist state. For a quarter of a century, the Israeli armed forces invaded the lands of neighboring Arab countries four times. As a result of the wars, it occupied a territory that is almost 5.5 times the area allocated to it by the UN decision of November 29, 1947, and 3.7 times the territory within the borders before June 5, 1967.

The aggressiveness and expansionism of Israel are explained by a number of reasons, and above all by the fact that this state is an instrument of American and international Zionism defending its interests in the Middle East. Imperialism, through the hands of Israel, is trying to halt the development of the national liberation movement in this area, for which it is provided with the necessary military and economic "aid" and appropriate political support.

In order to achieve its goals, the Zionist leadership turned Israel into a militaristic state. In terms of the number of medium tanks in service, Israel significantly exceeds such countries as, and (respectively 2700, 900, 950 and 1600 units), and in terms of the number of combat aircraft is not inferior to them (respectively, about 500, 500, 460 and 370 units). About 80% of the Israeli military budget goes to the development of the Air Force and. Israel is the only country in which women are called up for active military service in peacetime under the universal conscription law. Military training covers the population aged 14 to 60 years.

The aggressive aims of the Zionist government, the peculiarities of the military-geographical position of the country, and the limited human and material resources influence military doctrine and the development of the armed forces.

The military doctrine of Israel, judging by the reports of the foreign press, provides for the maintenance of the armed forces in a high degree of mobilization and combat readiness and the transfer of hostilities to the territory of the Arab countries with the outbreak of war in order to inflict military defeat on them as soon as possible. It is believed that the Israeli armed forces are not able to conduct a large scale simultaneously on two or three fronts. Therefore, along with the offensive, defensive actions will also be widely used. Considering the experience of the 1973 war, Israel's military-political leadership pays great attention to the issue of delivering a preemptive strike, primarily by the air force, against the Arab states. Israel is creating stockpiles of weapons, ammunition and fuel sufficient to conduct active hostilities for a month.

Our own military industry is developing at an accelerated pace, a significant part of the products of which is exported. To date, Israel has launched the production of Kfir tactical fighters, Fugue Magister jet combat training aircraft, Arava light military transport aircraft, 155-mm self-propelled guns, mortars (60-160 mm), including self-propelled (Fig. 1), 106-mm recoilless guns, missile boats equipped with the Gabriel URO system, small arms, ammunition and electronic equipment. It is expected that the export of Israeli military products in 1976 will reach 300 million dollars, which is 60% more than in 1975, and three times more than in 1974 (96 million dollars). One buyer is the racist regime in South Africa. The enterprises of the military industry are also modernizing military equipment of foreign production, which is in service with the Israeli army.

Rice. 1. Battery of 160-mm self-propelled mortars in a firing position

For faster decision-making on military policy, the structure of the Israeli armed forces, their combat readiness and equipment, military operations, etc. On April 11, 1976, the Israeli Cabinet established a government commission (11 people) on security issues chaired by the Prime Minister . It included the ministers of foreign affairs, defense, finance, interior, trade and industry, police, justice, health, and two ministers without portfolio.

The Israeli Armed Forces were established by decree of the provisional government of Israel on May 26, 1948. The basis for their formation was the illegal Jewish military units "Haganah", "Palmach", "Irgun tsva leumi" and others created by the Zionists in Palestine even before the formation of the state itself.

The Israeli armed forces consist of the ground forces, the air force, the navy and the NOHAL territorial troops. In addition, Israel has a paramilitary youth organization Gadna, a civil defense organization Haga, and border guard units subordinate to the Ministry of Police.

The number of armed forces, according to the foreign press, is 156,000 people, including 135,000 in the ground forces, 16,000 in the Air Force, and 5,000 in the Navy. In addition, there are about 5,000 people in the NOHAL territorial troops. During the wars of 1967 and 1973, the number of armed forces was increased to 310,000 - 320,000 people (ground forces - about 275,000, air force - 20,000, navy - 6,000, NOHAL troops - 8,000). Border police units number 4,000 people.

Israel's highest military command and control bodies are the Government Security Commission, the Ministry of Defense and the General Staff (Fig. 2). The prime minister is the supreme commander of the armed forces, and the minister of defense directly manages them through the general staff (on operational issues) and the apparatus of the ministry of defense (production and procurement of weapons, logistics and financial support). A civilian is appointed minister of defense, and his assistants are usually retired generals.

Rice. 2. The structure of the armed forces of Israel

The chief of the general staff is actually the commander-in-chief of the armed forces, since, in addition to the ground forces, the air force, navy and territorial troops of the NOHAL are subordinate to him.

In military and administrative terms, the territory of Israel is divided into three commands (military districts) - Northern, Central and Southern (headquarters, respectively, in the cities of Nazareth, Er-Ramla and Beersheba). In peacetime, they develop mobilization and operational plans, supervise the combat training of formations and units of the ground forces, and in time of war - their combat activities.

The call of recruits for military service is carried out by draft offices located in the cities of Haifa, Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Beer Sheva, Petah Tikva, Tiberias and others.

Israeli ground forces

In the ground forces, as reported in the Western press, there are ten armored, ten mechanized, nine infantry, five airborne and three artillery brigades. Of these, 11 personnel brigades (five armored, four infantry and two airborne), staffed with personnel and weapons according to the state; six cadre brigades of the first stage (one armored, four mechanized and one airborne) are staffed by 50% or more, and with weapons - according to the state; the remaining cadre brigades of the second stage (staffed by less than 30% and have a shortage in armament).

The ground forces are armed with about 2,700 medium tanks (Sherman, M48, M60A1 and others), 3,300 armored personnel carriers, up to 800 field artillery pieces, including 450 self-propelled (105, 155 and 203.2-mm howitzers, 175-mm cannons), a number of 240 mm rocket artillery launchers, 900 anti-aircraft guns of 20, 30 and 40 mm calibers (Fig. 3 shows a 20 mm anti-aircraft gun). Recently, 20-mm six-barreled anti-aircraft guns, missiles and . Anti-tank weapons are represented by a significant number of 106-mm recoilless rifles mounted on "jeeps" and armored personnel carriers, ATGM SS-10, SS-11 "Cobra" and 66-mm M72 anti-tank rocket launchers. Since 1973, the Israeli-made 5.6-mm Galil automatic rifle has been in service with infantry and motorized infantry units.

Rice. 3. 20-mm twin anti-aircraft gun in a firing position

According to foreign press reports, in 1976 an operational tactical missile with a non-nuclear warhead was put into service (a total of 18-24 launchers and up to 200 missiles should be delivered) and the Israeli Jericho missile (firing range of 500 km) is in production, which can carry a nuclear or conventional charge.

To increase the combat capabilities of the ground forces, Israel seeks additional supplies of tactical missiles, M60A3 tanks, Cobra fire support helicopters, Tou ATGMs, and M113 armored personnel carriers.

In the combat training of the ground forces, the main emphasis is on the development of armored formations in cooperation with the Air Force and airborne troops. Considerable attention is paid to reconnaissance of the enemy and carrying out sabotage operations in his rear, providing the advancing troops with ammunition and fuel, as well as evacuating the wounded by air. For cadre brigades, the terms of mobilization are set at 24-72 hours, depending on the degree of their staffing. First of all, armored and airborne brigades are mobilized.

Israeli Air Force

The Air Force has about 500 combat aircraft of modern types, including: 200 F-4 (six fighter-bomber squadrons), 200 A-4 (six fighter-bomber squadrons), 75 types (Fig. 4), including more than 30 Kfir (three air defense squadrons). The Air Force has 80 Fugue Magister combat training aircraft and a number of obsolete aircraft (, "Mister" 4A, "Super Mister").

Rice. 4. "Mirage" 3C in the parking lot is being prepared for the next sortie

Auxiliary aviation has about 100 aircraft (Boeing 707, C-97 Stratokruzer, Noratlas, C-47, C-1 30, Arava, Do-27, Do-28, Icelander).

Helicopters are represented by the following types: , CH-53G, AB-205A, UH-1, S-65 2 (up to 100 units in total).

The combat strength of the Air Force also includes 15 batteries of missiles (90 launchers).

The main airfields of the Israeli Air Force are Ramat David, Akir, Hatzor, Tel Aviv, Lod (Lydda).

The foreign press reported that in the near future the Israeli Air Force would continue to receive aircraft of its own production "Kfir" and "Kfir" C-2, as well as American tactical fighters of the F-15 type (delivery of 25 aircraft is planned over the next two years).

Israeli Navy

Israel's main naval bases are Haifa (main), Ashdod and Eilat. A number of boats are based in a number of points on the coast of the Sinai Peninsula.

NOHAL Territorial Troops

Rice. 5. Soldiers of the military settlement NOHAL in the classroom for combat training

NOHAL troops are recruited on a voluntary basis. The terms and procedure for serving in them do not differ from those existing in the linear units. Recruits are sent to military settlements after completing a young fighter course in training units.

The Israeli government uses the interest of some countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America to create military formations such as the NOHAL troops and sends its advisers there to infiltrate these countries.

Paramilitary youth organization "Gadna"

As a result of training under the Gadna program, the Western press notes, militarily trained recruits come to active military service, which allows the Israeli command to train highly qualified specialists for the Air Force, Navy, armored and airborne troops in a relatively short time.

The activities of this organization in the field are directed by the "Gadna" department in the general staff through branches in the headquarters of the military districts. The organization publishes a monthly magazine, Bamahane Gadna.

Civil Defense ("Haga")

Israeli Women's Corps

The order of service in Israel

Men aged 18-29 are called up for regular military service, women - 18-26 years old (health workers of both sexes up to 38 years old). The duration of service for men aged 18-26 is 36 months, 27-29 years - 24 months (immigrants at this age - 18 months). Women of all ages serve 21 months.

After the end of the personnel service, those liable for military service are transferred to the reserve and, to maintain combat readiness, are annually called up to one of the units for the following terms - male soldiers and corporals under the age of 39 years for 31 days, aged 40-54 years for 14 days. Reservists at the rank of senior sergeant and above serve an additional seven days. The duration of service for women privates and corporals is 31 days; women at the rank of staff sergeant and above also serve seven extra days.

The Minister of Defense has been granted the right to detain reservists in military service for a longer time in connection with ongoing exercises, the development of new military equipment and the aggravation of the situation in the Middle East. On this basis, many reservists serve for two to three months annually.

Reservists (private, corporal and sergeant) aged 45-51 are called up for civil defense units.

Ideological indoctrination of Israeli military personnel

The entire officer corps, as well as the chief rabbinate of the armed forces, the cultural and educational department of the personnel department of the general staff, are engaged in the indoctrination of soldiers. The mass media also take an active part in the indoctrination.

At the disposal of the propaganda organs of the armed forces are the army broadcasting station "Galey Tsagal", the weekly soldier's magazine "Bamakhane", published in mass circulation. They also use the journals of the branches of the armed forces and branches of the armed forces "Heil gaavmr", "Heil Gayam", "Maarahot", "Maarahot khimush" and others.

A characteristic feature of the Israeli armed forces is that a significant part of the formations and units of the ground forces in peacetime is only partially staffed and is brought to full strength during the war or for the period of the exercises by calling up reservists. In the Air Force and Navy, the staffing of units is almost complete.

Despite the desire of the peoples for peaceful cooperation and detente, the militaristic circles of Israel, supported by international imperialism and Zionism, continue to balance on the brink of war, constantly posing a threat to peace and security in the Middle East. They are building up the combat power of their armed forces. they seek to perpetuate the occupation of the occupied territories, they are preparing new aggressive actions against the Arab countries. Such a policy is one of the reasons for the continued danger of new hostilities in the area.