IDF Chief of Staff Gadi Eizenkot met with the commander of the United States European Command, General Curtis Scaparrotti as part of the joint military exercise between the IDF and the US military, Juniper Cobra 2018.
The meeting was attended by the head of Israel's Intelligence Directorate, Major General Hertzi Halevi, the head of the Operations Branch, Maj. Gen. Nitzan Alon, the chief of the Planning Directorate, Major General Amir Abulafia, and the Commander of the Israel Air Force, Major General Amikam Norkin.
During the meeting, the commanders discussed the situation in the Middle East, the changing status of various threats in the region, and the opportunities presented by the strategic cooperation between the two militaries.
General Scaparrotti said: "The U.S. is deeply committed to the defense of Israel. We will continue to work alongside the IDF to promote stability throughout the region, not only for the purposes of this exercise, but in the event of any real-world contingency.”
The Juniper Cobra 2018 exercise simulates a scenario in which US forces would deploy to Israel in order to aid the IDF Aerial Defense forces. Together they will perform computerized simulations of a variety of rocket threat scenarios in different regions. The simulations include the use of the "Arrow," "Iron Dome", "Patriot", and "David's Sling" Systems. The David's Sling system was declared operational in April 2017.