'Iron Dome brought sanity to the homefront'

To paraphrase Winston Churchill's famous words -- "never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few" -- made in regard to the Royal Air Force following the victory in the Battle of Britain during World War II, it appears that Israel owes an enormous debt to one man: David Ben-Gurion. Despite the many facets of this debt, including the declaration of the state that Ben-Gurion stubbornly insisted on founding or the shaping of the state's character and central institutions, one of the leading components is Ben-Gurion's security policy.

This security doctrine, formulated by Ben-Gurion in the early 1950s together with then-IDF Chief of Staff Mordechai Maklef, boiled down to three tenets: deterrence, early warning and quick victory. The iron-clad logic behind this policy is clear: Israel is small, and faces many threats. It must deter its enemies to prevent them from attacking. If the deterrence fails, and an attack is launched, it must defeat the enemy rapidly and utterly, while transferring the fighting to enemy territory as quickly as possible.

Generations upon generations of IDF fighters and commanders were taught this doctrine. Over the years its efficacy has been tested many times over, both theoretically and practically. Ultimately, it always proves its validity -- efforts to alter the approach have proved fruitless. Until now, that is.

The changing nature of the threats that now face Israel have forced the state, after long discussions among security officials, to add one more tenet to the doctrine: defense. The amendment stems from the blurring of the line between the battlefield and the homefront and the constant missile threat on the civilian homefront.

This threat was first introduced during the first Gulf War in 1991 in the form of Iraqi Scud missiles, courtesy of Saddam Hussein. We encountered this threat again during the 2006 Second Lebanon War, the 2008-2009 Operation Cast Lead, the 2012 Operation Pillar of Defense and the 2014 Operation Protective Edge, and there is no indication that the threat will dissipate any time soon.

Brig. Gen. Shahar Shohat, the head of the Israeli Air Force Air Defense Command, is in charge of protecting Israelis from missiles, rockets and other airborne threats -- jets, helicopters, drones, etc. In 2011, the command changed its name from Anti-Aircraft Command to Air Defense Command. "The name change was not a semantic change," Shohat tells Israel Hayom. "Just like the addition of the word 'defense' to the essence of the national security policy was not a semantic change.

"In the wars of the present, there is less and less legitimacy for attack -- internationally, legally and here in Israel too. There is a lot more adherence to the universal and Jewish values of the sanctity of human life and the effort to hurt as few people as possible. That is why there has been a dramatic shift in the role of air defense within the air force and in the IDF in general. We used to be a tactical force, contributing actively in the battlefield only in large-scale wars, but now we have become a strategic force, actively taking part in defensive action even in intermediate situations. For example, defending against random rocket fire, which has sadly resumed lately, or against infiltration of drones and the like. It is now a force that is relevant during times of calm, not just in wartime."

Q: Is there not an inherent contradiction between the picture you are painting and the need to rapidly defeat the enemy in the battlefield? Victory is not possible with just defensive action.

"There is no doubt that enemies are defeated with offensive action, but there are many levels to confronting threats. We have to possess offensive and intelligence capabilities to foil various efforts to attack us, and at the same time defend the homefront. The name of the game is balance. It is not zero versus a hundred. We have to find the middle ground. The level of the homefront's resilience is also a factor in the national security."

Q: How would you rate the homefront's resilience during the most recent war, Operation Protective Edge?

"The Air Defense Command works in concert with other commands, like the Homefront Command, and together we provide the public with a large variety of measures: bomb shelters, fortified structures, early deterrence and of course active defense in the form of defense systems like Iron Dome. During Operation Protective Edge, the combination of these measures worked wonderfully, by way of excellent cooperation with the public. They followed instructions, showed discipline and helped significantly reduce the number of casualties.

"We managed to achieve a 90% success rate with the Iron Dome missile defense system -- and that is an accurate and true number -- in intercepting all rockets and missiles fired into areas we defined as protected zones. As we know, one of the great advantages of the Iron Dome system is that it distinguishes between targets. It classifies projectiles that don't pose a threat to human lives or property as not worthy of interception.

"This phenomenal success created a sense of sanity in the homefront. Even though the war lasted more than 50 days, day to day life continued as normal. The economy sustained a minimal blow, and even the income tax and property tax claims as a result of damage were not sky high. So contrary to [Hezbollah chief] Hassan Nasrallah's doomsday prophecy in his famous [2000] spiderweb speech, Israel did not collapse during Operation Protective Edge. Far from it."

Q: During the operation, there were numerous complaints that there were not enough early warning alerts.

"I am familiar with these complaints and they are a perfect example of failure to understand. People asked, 'How can it be that there was a siren in Rishon Lezion and not in Nes Ziona or Rehovot-' The answer is very simple: Today we can pinpoint the projected strike site of a projectile to a smaller radius than a city. That is a tremendous technological advance that allows us to put as few people as possible into shelters at any given time while everyone else continues their lives as normal. During the [1967] Six-Day War, every siren sent the entire country into shelters. During the [1991] Gulf War the country was divided into zones. During Operation Protective Edge we got it down to a few neighborhoods."

Q: There were also questions regarding the reported success of Iron Dome. There were those who claimed that the numbers were exaggerated.

"I look at every criticism as a positive, but the attempt to analyze the data through freeze frames from television reports cannot be accurate. In my view, our actions speak for themselves. I, or more accurately the Air Defense Command, pay for mistakes in cash and immediately. When the system fails, the entire world sees every rocket that strikes. There is damage to property and sometimes lives are lost. More than 4,700 rockets were fired into Israel during Operation Protective Edge. You can count the number of direct strikes and judge for yourself whether or not we are exaggerating."

Q: What went wrong with the rocket that struck near Ben-Gurion International Airport during Operation Protective Edge? Was it a technical error or human error?

"Several rockets were fired at Ben-Gurion Airport during Operation Protective Edge with the aim of sabotaging Israel's main airport. Throughout the operation, the relevant Iron Dome battery successfully protected the airport and prevented strikes within the airport grounds. The Air Defense fighters skillfully operated the defense system in a complex reality without error, all the while walking the fine line between maximum defense of the field and the safety of the civilian and air traffic. During the entire operation, not a single rocket hit the airport, nor did any commercial airliners face any threats during takeoff or landing."

Q: Considering the results, I suppose you are pleased with the performance of the Iron Dome system.

"The system has so far intercepted more than 1,700 rockets, but Judaism gave the world the concept of dissatisfaction, so we are not resting on our laurels. We are constantly upgrading and improving the system. We analyze and investigate every interception together with the defense industries and we draw the necessary conclusions. At the same time, however, the system is excellent. It has proven and continues to prove itself. During Operation Pillar of Defense we achieved incredible success by international standards: We managed to successfully intercept 85% of 1,500 rockets and missiles that were fired. During Operation Protective Edge we were up to 90% out of 4,700 rockets. The threat more than tripled and we were up 5% successful interceptions. That is a phenomenal achievement. Tremendous efforts were invested into upgrading the system to allow us to achieve this success -- a result of significant analysis.

"But it is not just the technology. Ultimately it is about the people. There is a person there in the loop, and the decision whether to intercept or not is made by the operator. This kind of decision requires a lot of courage. The system can make a recommendation, but ultimately it is the person who decides. I am very proud of our excellent people."

"The threats are here to stay"

Beyond the rocket and missile defenses, the Air Defense Command also performs classic anti-aircraft defense missions.

"Unmanned drones, especially the kind that carry explosives, are the next big thing. That is why we have developed a set of guidelines to confront them, which include the use of Patriot anti-aircraft missiles. This method has already proven itself: We have intercepted two drones coming from the Gaza Strip before they exploded, and another drone in the northern front. In separate news, our Patriot was the first in the world to down a Syrian Sukhoi Su-24 attack aircraft in September of last year."

Q: We currently face an unimaginable threat of missiles pointed at us from various directions: The Gaza Strip, of course, but also Hezbollah, Syria ...

"The threats are here to stay, and they will only grow more menacing, both in quantity and in accuracy. Our response to Hezbollah is not just defensive. It begins with deterrence, and if that should not suffice, the power of the IDF and the Air Force will do the job. Hezbollah's missile stores, especially its Fateh-110 and SM-600 missiles, are certainly a legitimate target. Considering our active defense and our homefront defense, I would not trade places with the other side. In regard to Syria, we are anxiously monitoring the developments and doing everything possible to remain uninvolved, as long as there is nothing there that can threaten our existence. There are new threats in Sinai that require our attention now, thanks to Islamic State."

Q: Are we prepared to confront these threats-

"Of course. Our main defense is the David's Sling missile defense system -- the world's most advanced active defense system that uses technology that does not exist anywhere else. It is truly the future, here today. The system will arrive at the start of 2016, but the preparations for its implementation are already underway. Israel Aerospace Industries has launched its first training course. The system itself is ready and has undergone a series of successful test fires. Its operation is different than that of Iron Dome, because the dome protects a limited area while David's Sling protects wide spaces."

Q: And what about the Iranian threat?

"There is no doubt that the Iranians have capabilities. Their missile capabilities are significant and advanced. They are also busy enhancing their capabilities, posing a threat not just to us, but to the entire Middle East. This threat should frighten the entire region. In terms of Israel's multi-layer defense array, in which Iron Dome is the foundation and David's Sling is the middle layer, the Arrow system, the top layer, should be able to confront long-range strategic threats. The Arrow system is constantly being upgraded, in full coordination with the Americans -- in planning, manufacturing and training."

Q: In case of a crisis with Iran, will American units arrive, like the Patriot batteries that were delivered during the Gulf War?

"I have prepared, and am preparing, for the possibility that American units arrive in Israel. If that happens, that will be a diplomatic issue. But the infrastructure exists. We train together with the Americans in the air defense arena all the time. The culmination of this cooperation is the biannual drill called Juniper Cobra. ... Another drill in the series will be held next year, in 2016. The cooperation with the Americans is very good and it is based on regular drills, meetings and joint conclusions. Our assessment is that when it comes down to it, the Arrow will certainly prove itself."

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