2012 US–Israel military exercise

none thumb|right|U.S. soldiers and Israeli soldiers pose for a photo during Austere Challenge 12 in Hazor, Israel The 2012 US–Israel military defense drill, codenamed Austere Challenge 12, was a military exercise between the United States, Israeli military, Germany and United Kingdom,U.S.-Israeli Military Exercise Sending Message to Iran that took place in late October 2012. History The joint exercises were expected to test Israeli and American air defense systems, particularly Israel's ballistic missile defense against incoming missiles and rockets.Israeli-US war games postponed to avoid aggravating mounting tensions with Iran A EUCOM commander would be responsible for approving Israeli requests to deploy US missile defense systems in Israel. Senior American and Israeli defense officials discussed the possibility of postponing the exercise to late 2012. On January 13, 2012, it was postponed to October.Katz Yaakov https://www.jpost.com/Defense/Article.aspx?id=253758 Joint US-Israel missile drill delayed JPost 21 December 2010 2012-01-28US-Israel military drill postponed Capt. John Ross, spokesman for the United States European Command, said "It is not unusual for such exercises to be postponed, and leaders of both sides believe that the best participation of all units will be best achieved later in the year." Israeli military officials said the U.S. government requested to delay the drill so as "not to heighten tensions" with Iran. Security officials have also said the decision was partially related to budgetary concerns.Joint US-Israel drill postponed to 'defuse Iran tensions' A day prior to the cancellation, senior IAF officers said the drill was scheduled for Spring. The exercise is also expected to be the first time the EUCOM commander James Stavridis will participate in a multilateral drill with Israel. Israel's foreign minister Avigdor Lieberman said "diplomatic and regional reasons, the tensions and instability" were factors in delaying the exercise. Mark Regev, the spokesman for Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel and the United States made the decision to delay the exercise "because it was not the right time.”Military Drill With the U.S. Is Postponed, Israeli Says Although a report in August alleged that the number of troops involved was being reduced from 5,000 to about 1,000, in order to reduce the perception that the exercise was a cover for an attack on Iran,https://world.time.com/2012/08/31/exclusive-u-s-scales-back-military-exercise-with-israel-affecting-potential-iran-strike/ U.S. Scales Back Military Exercise with Israel, Affecting Potential Iran Strike Karl Vick Aaron J. Klein 31 August 2012 Time 27 September 2023 17 November 2024 https://web.archive.org/web/20230927052148/https://world.time.com/2012/08/31/exclusive-u-s-scales-back-military-exercise-with-israel-affecting-potential-iran-strike/ dead it was later reported that the size of the drill and the number of troops participating had not changed. Brigadier General Nitzan Nuriel, said that the matter was one "of logistics," and that the number of troops had hardly changed.https://www.timesofisrael.com/reduced-us-israel-military-drill-billed-as-unchanged-delay-as-israeli-request/ Ahead of largest ever joint US-Israel drill, generals say troop cutback insignificant The Times of Israel October 17, 2012 October 17, 2012 Ginsburg, Mitch See also Arrow (Israeli missile) Israel–United States military relations References 35em Category:Military exercises involving the United States Category:Missile defense Category:Israel–United States military relations Category:2012 in military history Category:Military exercises involving Israel