One Man Will Land the Next Blow in Tehran: “A Whole Fleet of Drones for One Purpose”

JINSA Distinguished Fellow IDF MG (ret.) Amikam Norkin, former commander of the Israeli Air Force, was a guest at the Jerusalem Post conference in New York on Monday, and spoke about the capabilities of the Israeli Air Force, the close and long-standing cooperation with the United States Army, and the capabilities of the present and the future: “There is only one air force in Israel, and Israel’s air defense is part of it.” He presented a map of the Middle East and said, “Look at the size of Israel on the map. Our strategic depth is your support. Our strategic depth is the friendship with the United Arab Emirates and American support from October 7, and perhaps even from October ’73. Our strategic depth is the support of the Jews in the Diaspora.”

“I want to talk about the connection between the Israeli Air Force and the American relationship. We use American platforms and use American technology. We are assimilating Israeli capabilities, but we are training together, and in the end – it all depends on the people. The pilots talk to each other and the relationship between the troops is very close. During the COVID-19 period, the United States and Israel began to build regional cooperation programs, and all of them became a reality in the war with Iran.”

When asked where the next breakthrough will come from, he said: “The American and Israeli air forces operate the most advanced drone systems in the world. The next step is for one person to control an entire fleet of drones that will target themselves and attack without human intervention. We’re talking about air superiority – but we also have to talk about superiority from space. The laser systems will also be game-changers on the battlefield. We’re now in the initial defensive steps, and we’re already starting to talk about offensive capabilities.”

He added: “On the ground, we fought shoulder to shoulder alongside the Americans, and in my opinion, in high-tech, it should be similar. Israeli and American companies need to build a system in which we can invent and innovate, the Israeli bubble needs to be a source that the Americans can use to leap forward, and together build solutions to future threats. Not only to buy from each other – but to develop the capabilities of the future together.”

Read the original article in Maariv (in Hebrew).