The eyes in the skies

On an electronic map featuring a grid of colorful lines, each bearing a short code, one line deviates from its course over the northern Negev and heads east. It is a small but discernible deviation. An international plane is flying over an area where it is not supposed to be flying. Within seconds, an alarm sounds. Into the large room, filled with screens and stations, rushes a group of on-call officers. They man their stations and start flipping switches, turning dials and pressing buttons. Within a minute, the room is as busy as a beehive and phones are ringing in several centers across the country.

One calls is placed to the nearest squadron. A pair of F-16 fighter jets scrambles toward the deviant aircraft and all international channels are turned on in an effort to communicate with the pilot. The flight controller guides the Air Force jets to the precise coordinates, instructing them to stand by. They follow the plane from afar, not taking any action quite yet.

"We scrutinize the behavior of the plane closely to identify any sign of an anomaly," explains Lt. Col. Aviad, the experienced commander of the southern aerial control unit.

"Civilian aircraft behaving unpredictably are among our biggest challenges, because the cost of a mistake in a situation like this is very high. That is why we make the utmost efforts to differentiate threats from mistakes."

The process continues. The objective, Aviad says, is "to decide whether we convict or acquit. It is critical because we then take it up the chain of command to the decision-making level."

The decision will be made in the control room at the Air Force headquarters, where the Air Force commander or a senior officer mans the controls. Obviously, if the incident involves a commercial airliner, the chain of command could even reach the defense minister or the prime minister.

It's a delicate dance. These events occur at dizzying speeds, in the air, and any decision could have far-reaching implications, both military and civilian. This is living on the edge of a knife.

Meanwhile, the deviating pilot is not answering on any of the international channels, and continues to fly off course, eastward. Information pours in: This is a Royal Jordanian flight, apparently on the way to cross the border into Jordan. The entire staff is ready to take action if this flight goes from unexpected to threatening. For now, everyone is holding their fire and keeping a close watch.

Meanwhile, an unidentified aircraft appears from the direction of the Gaza Strip. This time two pairs of fighter jets are scrambled. The identification process is very fast and this time, the order to open fire comes quickly. The drone is immediately downed. Cpt. A., who oversaw the downing of a drone from Gaza last September, provides a detailed explanation of the event in real time. As he is doing so, the Jordanian plane quietly crosses the border into Jordan and the potentially explosive incident ends peacefully.

This whole scenario is just a simulation, but it is very convincing. The unit works like a well-oiled machine. That is a good, because Israel faces an ever-growing aerial threat. According to a commander, Col. Eran, "The enemies around us have stepped up their ability to operate aerial platforms. They also have increased motivation to use these capabilities to send messages or attack us. The fact is that in the last 18 months alone, two drones have flown out of Gaza and we had to shoot them down."

The aerial control unit is critical to the Air Force's operational capability.

"It is relevant to the corps' entire scope of operations, both near and far," Eran says. "The unit receives the guidelines and the plans, meaning the Air Force's policy translated into specific action, from the central control, and passes it along to force in the field -- to aircraft in the air, planes, helicopters and remotely operated aircraft, and to ground forces as well, the aerial defense."

The unit is also responsible for overseeing and coordinating Israel's narrow and very active airspace. It is a massive headache for anyone to coordinate a variety of air traffic that includes military, civilian, private and recreational flights.

"The aerial view that we create here is very accurate and very complete," says Eran. "This view allows a variety of Air Force activities -- operations, transport, air defense and training -- to co-exist in this narrow airspace. And of course all this has to accommodate civilian air traffic as well."

Israel's air defenses have become common knowledge in recent years, particularly after Operation Protective Edge in 2014 when the missile defense system Iron Dome successfully intercepted an impressive number of rockets and missiles fired from Gaza at Israeli civilian centers. The complimentary Arrow defense systems and, most recently, the David's Sling system, are familiar to everyone in the country. But before a battery commander can press the button and launch a defense missile from any one of these systems, the first encounter with the threat comes from the control unit.

"The discovery, identification, classification and decision that this is a target worthy of intercepting, all this is done here, by us," Eran says. "The head of the air defense units is the one to scramble jets or fighter helicopters. He is the one who points the missile defense batteries up at 'ready' and he is the one who calls the headquarters to sound the alert. It provides decision availability and fire availability. We provide the response to the threat."

Israel's small size vastly limits the time in which decisions can be made. At times, decisions have to be made in seconds before a threatening aircraft reaches what appears to be its target. Sometimes there is only a minute or a minute and a half. That is how long it takes an aircraft to get from the Lebanese border, or from Gaza, into Israel. Either way, the response time is critical and personnel are well aware of the speed required to make decisions. That is why, in certain situations, when the target is defined as critical or strategic, the air control inspector is empowered to make a decision to shoot down an aircraft himself. Inspectors, therefore, need to be exceptionally skilled.

Today inspectors have so much more than the classic radar antennas of old. Sensors, both stationary and mobile, are fanned out across the country, constantly transmitting immense amounts of up-to-the-minute information. This information is processed by the most cutting-edge analytical machinery in the world and translated into an accurate view of the situation. Here is something you may not know: Besides intercepting rockets and missiles, the Iron Dome defense system is often used by the aerial defense unit as a regular surface-to-air missile system. When a mission calls for shooting down an aircraft, usually a drone, Iron Dome batteries are available to the unit like any other means of air defense.

The civilian challenge

Because of the country's unique and complex operational requirements, the entire field of air traffic control, including civilian traffic, falls under the authority of the Air Force. The unit has a civilian division charged with coordinating civilian traffic with military operations. But Israel's civilian challenge is growing at an alarming rate: The number of flights to Israel has increased by 20% this year, compared to an average rise of 5% in flights worldwide. Ben-Gurion International Airport sees an average of 550 flights per day.

Israel's open skies agreement has attracted new, low-cost commercial flights and increased the number of airlines that fly into and out of Ben-Gurion Airport. According to the Israel Airports Authority, more than 100 different airlines travel to and from the airport, and 30 airlines use the other Israeli airports -- Ovda, Haifa, and soon, Timna. In a surprisingly short time, the barely 2-year-old open skies agreement has catapulted Israel to superpower status in the field of civilian air travel.

Eran says that "at the same time, recreational flights have also increased in scope -- hundreds of ultra light aircraft and other small planes are in the air all the time. This reality forces us to use maximum flexibility in overseeing the aerial space. At times we need to limit civilian traffic to accommodate large-scale Air Force drills, but we also need to consider peak commercial flight times like holidays."

Safety maneuvers

The challenge that comes with civilian flights is not limited to providing lanes in a crowded zone. There is also the risk of aerial terrorism. This is something that is definitely taken into account. The Russian plane that exploded over Sinai was a warning signal.

"We train the unit every week on this, that's how much of a threat it is in our view," Eran says.

Another threat that gets a lot of attention in the unit is the threat posed by remotely operated drones.

"If you ask me to assess which kind of enemy aircraft is likeliest to arrive at this time, I would say that a drone is probably the most realistic scenario," the unit commander says.

But drones are not just a threat. The IDF is using drones at an increasing rate, and today drones are incorporated into more and more operational activity.

"The southern arena has become more and more tempestuous in recent years," says Elad. "If you look at Gaza, for example, we are responsible for any aerial threat coming out of there -- it can be in a comprehensive operation like Protective Edge or Pillar of Defense [in 2012] or in response to sporadic fire or in the event of a sudden event, like the abduction of Gilad Schalit."

Another challenge facing the unit is the sheer number of players in the arena, requiring extra care and coordination. On the screen at the control station you can see a Russian plane, an American plane and a French plane -- all military and all flying extremely close to us.

"The Russians are allies," Eran says. "We don't look at them as any kind of threat. But we have to make sure to identify who's who."

That is why every aircraft is immediately identified, and anyone who eludes identification undergoes an identification protocol. The coordinations with the Russians are done on a national level. Coordination with the Americans is easier, and can often be done with a phone call.

Our tour of the unit's headquarters takes place after the unusual incident on March 17 in which the Syrians fired SA-5 anti-aircraft missiles into Israel, forcing Israel to activate its Arrow 2 defense system for the first time to intercept one of them. Eran confirms: "It happened. Rest assured that the interception put no civilian planes at any risk, not even the Lufthansa plane that reported the missile fire. There were dozens of kilometers between the plane and the [Arrow] missile launcher. The Arrow works horizontally and doesn't reach the altitude where planes fly."

It is safe to assume that commercial airlines are not jumping at the chance to fly amid missile interceptions. Eran assuages these fears, saying, "I met with the heads of the American FAA and the European ESA and we have established collaborative teams and we showed them how we are able to incorporate safe civilian air traffic to and from Israel into this complex task of active air defense in our nation's skies. We managed to prove that our risk management meets the highest international standards. We never endanger any civilian planes at any point, no way."

　

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