A squadron of missile boats under the command of Colonel Guy and Navy submarines conducted large-scale exercises last week, during which military operations against the "flotilla of foreign ships" were worked out.
Teachings of this kind have not been carried out for many years and were intended to preserve readiness for action against the fleet of the enemy state, as well as to war with terrorist organizations such as Hezbollah and Hamas.
The purpose of the exercises was to train commanders and fighters at sea, tactical thinking in real time, whose goal is to confront the enemy forces of scale and power, similar to the Mediterranean countries.
Within the Navy exercises, including missile ships, submarines, patrol boats of the Dvora type, aircraft, Flotilla 13 and the coastal defense system, were divided into two equal groups in the area from Haifa to Ashdod.
The "Mihmoret" beach marked the middle line between the groups, and the training area ended 100 kilometers from the shore line. Each side that took responsibility for half of the sea and coastal territory was defined as a "state" and should not only defend itself, but also attack.
The first task was to find each other on the high seas. "The detection phase is similar to the search for needles in a haystack due to the large size of the territory and the secrecy of the operation," said a senior naval officer. "You have to find the enemy and avoid surprises. This is a very difficult task. "
He also explained that this week of "war" helped to strengthen the readiness of the forces in several areas - such as building a picture in isolation from intelligence units, the decision-making process, opposition to changes in tactical actions of the enemy, which do not correspond to plans and previously received intelligence.
"The connection between the flotillas was excellent. They understood what they wanted from them, "said the officer. - There were tactical surprises on both sides. There were also errors in the construction of the picture of actions and in the coordination of shooting. The goal was to improve skills also in the battle between missile boats and submarines. The patrol boats of the Dvora defended the coast, and the sea commandos resisted those who wanted to go ashore. And not a single submarine was found by the enemy. "
"In our operational concept, despite the fact that the enemy moved to land, we remain ready for war at sea," said the officer. - This is our foundation. The main thing is to win at sea. Today, our naval forces do not have a threat from the fleet of the enemy state, but this is a scenario that can be realized in connection with the changing geopolitical situation. We must be ready and keep the strength of our fleet. "
In recent years, the presence of foreign warships in the Mediterranean has increased, especially against the backdrop of fighting in Syria, which often leads to conflicts between different ships and forces the Israeli Navy to maintain full combat readiness.