Marking 40 years since the establishment of the elite Israeli Air Force Shaldag Unit, the IDF has released for publication footage and pictures from the unit's activities.
Shaldag was founded in 1974 following the lessons of the Yom Kippur war. The main goal of Shaldag - allowing the air force to obtain its own intelligence and carry out commando operations relevant to air force activities and objectives.
A senior IAF officer explained today that the unit is operative non-stop, whether during war, in operations or in routine training.
"Shaldag carries out special operations", he said, "and operates in the depth of the enemy's territory as well as in areas closer to the Israeli border"
"One of the main challenges of the Air Force is land-based missiles", explained the officer, "this is a challenge that we met already during the Gulf War when Scud missiles were launched towards Israel".
Shaldag acts against these threats and others, clearing the way for the airborne operations to reach their objectives.
The IDF officer said that Shaldag carried out dozens of operations during the second Lebanon war - including intelligence-gathering operations as well as hunting down enemy rocket squads .