Tel Aviv. The upcoming US–Israeli Juniper Falcon exercise will be based on an online exchange of scenarios and operational solutions, with a minimal presence of US army service men.

The original plan was to airlift thousands of US army service men to Israel to work closely with the Israeli ones.
The need for a new format stems from the pandemic that is still not fully controlled in Israel in spite of a massive vaccination operation.

The decision on the limited format of the exercise was made in spite of the fact that this exercise at this point of time is of high importance as the tension with Iran gets to new peaks.

According to the original plan, the US army planned to bring to Israel thousands of soldiers equipped with ICT systems, satellite communication systems and other classified equipment to strengthen cooperation between the armies.

According to Israel Defense Forces (IDF), the Americans prefer not to take unnecessary risks.

The headquarters exercise or the option with limited US army soldiers participation, will include a long list of scenarios, based on intelligence gathered by both countries.

According to the exercise plan, it will include the use of the new upgraded version of the Israeli Iron Dome air defense system.

-The writer is an Israel-based freelance journalist