The Juniper Cobra 10 exercises, the fifth in a series of joint air defence drills between the allies, began this week and comes amid heightened tension between Israel and arch-foe Iran.

Some 1,000 US soldiers will take part in the two-week exercise combining Israeli and US systems to "create the world's most advanced air defence system to protect our citizens and homes from attack," the commander of Israel's Air Defence Corps, Brigadier General Doron Gavish, told reporters.

Israeli and US commanders refused to describe the scenarios they are simulating, but said they would practise merging different anti-missile systems that defend simultaneously against long-, medium- and short-range missiles.

Israeli media reported that the exercise would likely include a scenario of a combined attack from Iran together with shorter range barrages from Syria and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah.

Rear Admiral John Richardson, the commander of the US forces, said systems used would include the American THAAD (Terminal High Altitude Area Defence), the ship-based Aegis Ballistic Missile Defence System, and the Patriot anti-aircraft system, as well as the Israeli Arrow (Hetz) II.

Israel and the US have cooperated in missile defence since the US sent batteries of Patriot missiles to Israel during the first Gulf War, when Saddam Hussein fired dozens of Scud missiles at Israel.

Israel's air defences have since been further tested. Hezbollah fired hundreds of rockets into Israel during the 2006 conflict in Lebanon and Palestinian militants have lobbed thousands of improvised rockets from the Gaza Strip.

The exercises were purely defensive and, planned nearly two years in advance, were not in reaction to any current world events, the generals said.

But they come amid heightened tensions between Israel and Iran.

Israel, the sole if undeclared nuclear-armed state in the Middle East, has never ruled out a resort to military action to stop Iran's nuclear drive which the West suspects is aimed at making nuclear weapons but Tehran insists is only for peaceful ends.

Iran for its part has recently tested missiles that put Israel within range and President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has repeatedly said that the Holocaust was a "myth" and that Israel was doomed to be "wiped off the map."

Juniper Cobra will take part in three stages, deploying US forces, simulating attacks and finally a live-fire testing of the Patriot system, Richardson said, adding that all US forces would leave the region once the drill ended.

earlier related report
Poland agrees to new U.S. defense shield
Wooing Warsaw, U.S. Vice President Joe Biden has managed to secure Poland's support for a new, more mobile defense system in Eastern Europe.

Donald Tusk, Poland's prime minister, told reporters after talks with Biden that he viewed the Obama administration's new plan as "very interesting, necessary and we are ready to participate at the appropriate scale."

The so-called SM-3 missiles planned were spelled out in fine details by Biden during a trip to Warsaw earlier this week.

"This is very important for Poland, for NATO and the U.S. Above all, this is about the long-term strategic cooperation between the U.S. and Poland," Mariusz Handzlik, the chief foreign policy adviser to the Polish president, was quoted saying in a report by The New York Times.

Pentagon officials say the SM-3 missiles are the most technically advanced and cost effective way to counter Iran's anticipated arsenal.

Poland's backing of the plan comes months after President Barack Obama announced he was scrapping Bush administration designs to build a long-range missile defense system in Eastern Europe.

Poland was expected to have hosted at least 10 interceptor missiles as part of the ground-based system.

But the Obama decision precipitated frosty relations between Washington and Warsaw, which did not want to look to Europe for security assurance, but rather, to the United States.

Biden's charm offensive in Warsaw, critics said, saw frigid U.S.-Polish relations thawing.

In statements to the press following his meeting with the Polish prime minister, Biden said Poland enjoyed an "absolute" U.S. commitment to its defense, praising Polish soldiers for their "great sacrifices" in Afghanistan.

He also prodded Poland, one of America's "closest allies," to join efforts to improve relations with Russia.

The new U.S. missile system aims to reduce the threat from short- and medium-range missiles.

Announcement of Poland's support for the SM-3 missiles plan came on the 70th anniversary of the Soviet Union's invasion of Poland at the start of World War II.

The SM-3 missile plan is seen by many analysts as a bid by the Obama administration to sway several Eastern European governments, including the Czech Republic, which also was annoyed by Washington's decision to drop old missile defense plan, that it is not turning its back on the region as it strives to improves relations with Russia.

The plan could also help ease relations between Warsaw and Prague, whose governments have been among America's strongest allies in Europe but have increasingly felt snubbed by the administration.

In his meeting, Biden is said to have told Tusk that the United States had ditched plans for fixed-based missiles because they were technologically outdated, not due to Russian pressure.

"Simply put, our missile plan is better security for NATO, and is better security for Poland," Biden said.

Moscow has been a staunch opponent of the shield, arguing that the Bush plan's antiballistic missiles were directed against Russia -- a claim the United States has repeatedly rebuffed.

The Bush and Obama administrations have instead insisted that the intended defense shield was meant to protect Europe against a possible attack from Iran.

About 100 U.S. troops are expected to be stationed in Poland to maintain the missiles, each costing the U.S. around $10 million, Polish daily Dziennik Gazeta Prawna reported earlier this month. The SM-3 defense system is made by Waltham, Mass.-based Raytheon Co.

Polish-Russian relations have been strained by Poland's backing of NATO membership for Ukraine and Georgia, which Russia opposes.

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