Report: Israel “Mentally” Preparing Pilots to Deal with Hizbullah Surface-to-Air Missiles
The Israel Air Force plans to conduct special seminars to prepare pilots and ground crews for future conflicts amid a growing anti-aircraft and ballistic missile threat against the Jewish state, Israeli daily The Jerusalem Post reported.
The seminar will first be held for pilots who, in a future conflict with Hamas, Hizbullah, Syria or Iran, could deal with an unprecedented number of surface-to-air missiles, most of them Russian-made, said the report.
Hamas is believed to have a number of shoulder-to-air missiles. Hizbullah is also known to have such missiles and Israel is concerned that Syria may transfer advanced missile systems to the Shiite group, said The Jerusalem Post.
The mental preparation will not be limited to pilots, according to the report, which said that the seminar will also be held for ground crews stationed at Air Force bases, which all currently fall within the range of Hizbullah and Hamas missiles.