Yesterday the commander of the US military forces in Europe, General Curtis M. Scaparrotti stressed the United States' maximum support for Israel in the event of war.
The observation was made during a meeting between Scaparrotti and Israel's chief of staff, General Gadi Eizenkot, at the military headquarters in Tel Aviv.
"The United States is deeply committed to the defense of Israel," Scaparrotti said, according to a statement released by the Israeli army spokesman.
“We will continue to work alongside the IDF (Israel Defense Forces) to promote stability throughout the region.
Eizenkot noted that Scaparrotti's visit took place yesterday to inaugurate the start of the joint exercise "Juniper Cobra 2018“, Which once again demonstrates the commitment of the United States to the security of the State of Israel. The two-year exercise that will last one month is the ninth in which the two armies train together.
"This established format is intended to enhance our ability to defend ourselves against missile threats and advance the capabilities of both militaries against various threats," said Eizenkot.
About 2.500 US troops who are routinely based in Europe have been deployed to Israel and about 2.000 Israeli air defense troops, logistic units, medical forces and other IDF units.
A military statement released last week said the participating forces are performing computer simulations of a huge variety of missile threat scenarios in different regions of Israel.
The simulations include tests of the Arrow anti-ballistic missile system, Iron Dome anti-rocket system, the Patriot medium-range missile system, and David's Sling, which was designed to intercept medium-range missiles from Hezbollah militants of southern Lebanon and is became operational in April 2017.