JERUSALEM, April 17 (Xinhua) -- Israel's air force carried out a combined live-fire exercise testing its Patriot and Iron Dome aerial defense systems, the army said Wednesday.
The drill was conducted successfully with both missile systems intercepting the live targets, according to the army.
The "Israel Air Force (IAF) successfully concluded a series of exercises and tests to evaluate operational readiness and alertness to continue to maintain the necessary defense of Israel's skies," a military spokesperson said in a statement.
The exercise, which took place in the Palmachim air base in central Israel, included several scenarios aimed at "evaluating the proficiency of the combat soldiers and technicians from the IAF Aerial Defense Array and its systems."
Two foreign military delegations visited the exercise to "learn from its results," the army said, without elaborating the names of the countries.
The two delegations will also "participate in a panel discussion about various professional subjects and a dialogue about further developing the cooperation between the militaries," the spokesperson noted.
The Israeli exercise came amid tensions with Syria over U.S. President Donald Trump's recognition of the Golan Heights, a territory Israel seized from Syria in a 1967 war, as Israeli territory.
The army said the drill was scheduled before Trump's announcement in March, and it was held "as part of the annual training program."
The long-range Patriots and short-range Iron Dome missiles are part of Israel's multi-layered aerial defense weaponry. The Patriots, manufactured by the U.S. defense company Raytheon, are aimed to intercept aircraft and missiles, while Iron Dome is an anti-rocket system mainly used to intercept rockets fired by militants in the Gaza Strip.
