Skip to main content

Israel hosts first-ever international drone exercise for US, UK, France, Italy, Germany

In a world first, Israel is hosting an international drone training exercise. Called the “Blue Guardian,” the military exercise is seeing participation from the United States, France, Italy, Germany, and the United Kingdom.

The two-week-long exercise that kicked off on Monday is being led by the Israeli Air Force’s Remotely Piloted Aerial Vehicle (RPAV) division.

The drills are divided into two parts. The first week will focus on training international crews to operate the Israeli “Zik” (Hermes 450) drone. Here, the daily briefings will be led by a different country every day, creating a foundation for mutual learning.

Meanwhile, the second week of the exercise will see the participants drilling a simulated combat scenario between a coalition of allied nations against an enemy. Further, during the second week, forces will fly in joint formations and cooperate with the IAF’s fighter and helicopter divisions as well as commando units.

Lt. Col. L, commander of the leading squadron in the exercise, explains:

We’ve outlined several goals for the exercise. First, creating effective aerial scenarios to allow for a high-quality training exercise. Second, we emphasized the personal connection with our counterparts: from interpersonal bonds between operators to providing our allies with a sense of comfort and security while adapting to their needs. And third, illustrating the IAF’s high standard that is manifested in our personnel’s dedication and in the professionalism and precision of the aerial missions.

Read more: British Royal Navy testing drones to save overboard sailors

First-ever international drone exercise

Detailing why such an exercise has not been held until now, Lt. Col. L says:

The field of RPAVs includes many classified capabilities and secrets that are carefully hidden. Additionally, deploying RPAVs to another country is a complex procedure since in addition to the aircraft, the control stations must be transported.

This is why it has been decided that all the international participants would fly an Israeli drone instead.

Site default logo image

It wouldn’t be easy though. Despite the fact that all the drone operators at the exercise are professionals and highly experienced in their fields, they will need to get themselves accustomed to an unfamiliar control station and navigate through the operational manuals that are all in Hebrew.

As Lt. Col. L points out:

A common ‘RPAV language’ between the countries still doesn’t exist. Other divisions that conduct international exercises each year have mutual doctrine and similar professional terminology, while we had to build everything from scratch.

FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.

DJI FPV discount sale
You’re reading DroneDJ — experts who break news about DJI and the wider drone ecosystem, day after day. Be sure to check out our homepage for all the latest news, and follow DroneDJ on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn to stay in the loop. Don’t know where to start? Check out our exclusive stories, reviews, how-tos, and subscribe to our YouTube channel.

Comments

Author

Avatar for Ishveena Singh Ishveena Singh

Ishveena Singh is a versatile journalist and writer with a passion for drones and location technologies. She has been named as one of the 50 Rising Stars of the geospatial industry for the year 2021 by Geospatial World magazine.


Manage push notifications

notification icon
We would like to show you notifications for the latest news and updates.
notification icon
You are subscribed to notifications
notification icon
We would like to show you notifications for the latest news and updates.
notification icon
You are subscribed to notifications