Ahead of a possible future conflict in the north, the IDF logistics directorate
held an exercise last week to improve its delivery of ammunition and supplies to
forces operating deep behind enemy lines.
During the drill, the IDF
practiced dropping ammunition, food, supplies and even Hummer vehicles from
C-130 Hercules transport aircraft behind enemy lines to forces that are cut off
from regular logistics lines.
In line with lessons learned from the
Second Lebanon War in 2006, the IDF has put a strong emphasis in recent years on
improving its ability to create supply lines to forces operating in Lebanon,
Gaza or Syria.
The IDF has, for example, developed a long-range
power-propelled parachute capable of carrying supplies to troops.
Called
“Flying Elephant,” the parachute is designed to carry one ton of supplies and
will be powered by a propeller engine and launched by a catapult
system.
Once airborne, it will lift up cargo with a specially-designed
handle. It will then use GPS to locate the landing site and has a level of
accuracy of approximately 30 meters within designated coordinates.
In
another improvement, the IDF recently completed the installation of new software
for the Tzayad digital army program enabling commanders to also monitor
logistics supply levels.
Tzayad creates a digital picture of a
battlefield and allows units to share information on the location of friendly
and hostile forces, as well as imagery collected from ground and aerial
sensors.
The IDF has also developed a new cargo container that can be
carried underneath transport helicopters without slowing down the speed of the
aircraft.
To enable the fast speeds, the new container comes with
built-in wings that were aerodynamically engineered to prevent wind resistance,
which would otherwise slow down the helicopter or the parachute.