Israel, US hold joint air defense exercise

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The Israeli and US militaries are continuing a major joint air defense exercise, highlighting military ties between the two allies.

The drill will last more than two weeks, and is being held at a time of heightened tensions over Iran's nuclear programme.

A video released by the IDF shows Israeli and US troops preparing for the military exercises.

Some analysts say the drill could have political implications for Israel's regional foes, with the exercise testing technology that could be used to defend Israel against a hypothetical Iranian attack.

Israel has defended the drill.

Brig. Gen. Doron Gavish, Commander, Israel Air Defense, said, "This exercise will not deal with offensive operations. The current exercise is the fifth in a series of JC exercises which begin in the year of 2001. The current exercise has been planned for over a year-and-a-half, hence it is not response to any current real world event."

Over a thousand US troops are participating along with a similar number of Israel Defense Forces troops.

Rear Adm. John Richardson, Director of US Naval Forces, Europe and Africa, said, "and certainly during these next three weeks, we will advance both the art and science of ballistic missiles defense and interoperability between our two forces."

The US has deployed 17 warships equipped with radar systems to detect surface-to-surface missiles for the exercise.

The two countries plan to set up radar sites along the Israeli coast and launch dummy missiles from the sea to test the system's performance.