For the first time the entire training will be at the base of a tribe, with an upgraded simulator • "Need insanely strong fighters" • Activity: "Power multiplier" • And what does that have to do with Ali Express?

• Sky rider in action // Photo: IDF Spokesman

"The training of a fighter in the 'Sky Rider' unit is one of the most challenging trainings in the IDF - even during the time that the training lasts, both in the distances they are required to swallow and in the weights they are required to carry. "If you have to compare to other units, this is not a simple challenge - most of the trips are made with officers of fifty percent body weight. A particularly large force is needed - insanely strong fighters," says the unit's fire chief, Lt. Col. Adiv Ifrah.

This week, Artillery Corps fighters enlisted, including those interested in enlisting in the Sky Rider unit. This is probably one of the most well-known aircraft in the State of Israel, which provides accurate and fast intelligence to combatants in the field.

Photo: Newsenders

Unlike other units, the RUHS unit does not operate independently, and its teams join different forces in order to provide visual intelligence to the tactical echelon. The fighters know how to gather intelligence, secure ground forces and direct fire by various means when needed. About 50 kilograms, without taking into account his combat equipment, and the distances he has to travel with the force of paratroopers or Golani for example is large, he must have both significant physical strength and technological capabilities that will allow him to operate the missile.

On the occasion of the Artillery Corps' recruitment day, and the transition these days to the "Sky Rider" school from Ramon base to the Shivta artillery base, along with an upgrade of the simulator that helps train the fighters, the unit agreed to reveal some of the classified training a fighter undergoes in the unit.

"The fighters are sorted before enlistment and also at the beginning of the service, after enlisting in the artillery," Lt. Col. Ifrah explains about the beginning of a fighter in the unit. "In the sorting process, they go through theoretical, mental and physical sortings At the Shivta base and then move on to eight months of training at the 'Sky Rider' school at Ramon base, starting from the current recruitment cycle, they will undergo all their training, one year in total, at the Artillery Corps' divisional training base.

One of the great innovations of the unit is in upgrading the simulator so that it will train the fighters without having to risk expensive aircraft, allow them to make mistakes while learning and signal to commanders where their weak points are. "By and large, the simulator simulates the entire flight experience, from takeoff, through the operation of the various systems to advanced means of interrogation to the level of switching and decision making. This allows us not to make mistakes in the field. In fact, novices spend many more hours training in front of the simulator compared to using the aircraft themselves, realizing that this is a sterile area where you can learn and improve much better, and of course cheaper. "They will make the mistakes in the trainer and get better. I do not see a situation where fighters are equipped for such complex situations without a simulator. This significantly streamlines training. "

Another advantage that comes from the school's transition from Ramon base to Shivta base, says Lt. Col. Ifrah, concerns cooperation and training that simulates the situation during combat. "We are not an independent unit, and as such we need cooperation. We will be able to perform exercises with parallel courses and units that come to practice, because that is what will be required of him in the operational activity. This is not a unit that stands on its own in Ramon, but a unit that constantly knows how to work with other forces. " When I enlisted we did not have such tools, certainly not in such masses. We have almost everything we need for training here at home. "

At the end of the training, which includes theoretical content along with field experience, the fighters will move to an operational company as an organic team together with their commander. From there they will be assigned to the various roles. The unit also has female fighters, with the missions being divided according to physical abilities, as not every male and female warrior is able to join a grueling leg mission with heavy equipment on his back. "It should be remembered that not all the army goes on foot. There are units with vehicles and APCs. So there is no problem with that. We have teams with higher qualifications for distances and weights and mounted teams. Each one is adapted to the unit in which he is going to serve. "

The fighters arrive in different areas with different units and carry out important activities that help battalions operating in Judea and Samaria, Gaza and other places. "This is a force multiplier, which the battalion must have eyes that can provide a forward look from the field and close circles quickly and lethally. Obviously today fighting without a 'Sky Rider' is like closing your eyes. "We are no longer in a situation where we are fighting in an open area in the Golan Heights, where we see 20 km ahead with binoculars. In the outlines where we operate 'Sky Rider' is able to see what is happening around the corner of the building or street. It is a tool that can not be fought without."

The meaning of "sky rider," he clarifies, is critical in combat. "The IDF today is a more accurate and lethal army, and 'Sky Rider' helps with that. Our entire team knows how to fire and derive meanings from what it sees. It is impossible today to fight in closed areas without the advanced capabilities that constitute a tie-breaker. The enemy mostly hides from us and tries to reach situations that are equal to us. "This ability breaks equality because the battalion commander and the fighter can see a few steps ahead. In very high probability, any battalion that has the 'Sky Rider' in the next war will find it easier to fight."

In recent years a number of aircraft have fallen during operational activity. This, the IDF says, whenever such an incident occurs, does not pose a risk to information security, but at the same time it is no small damage. This type of aircraft costs NIS 200,000. "In contrast to the activity that the unit does, it is one of the safest and most effective tools available. For us, "Lt. Col. Ifrah says in words.

It has previously been reported that sales sites such as Ali Express sell remotely manned aircraft with disturbing resemblance to "Sky Rider". These tools could reach the terrorist organizations that will use them in the future. "You have to understand the technological aspect. You could sell an airplane that resembles a 'Sky Rider'. But the systems in 'Sky Rider' have no chance. They are our systems that can not be obtained anywhere else. And of course, our people are also impossible. "It can be obtained nowhere else. It may be possible to obtain one or another aircraft, just as it is possible to obtain a glider with high capabilities. I estimate that they do not have the same capabilities and I am sure that they are not the same systems and operators. And the operator is no less important than the aircraft."