Air force carries out planned exercise at Tel Aviv base

The IDF announced Monday morning that an air force drill was to take place at the Sde Dov military base in Tel Aviv.

The army said that the public could expect to hear explosions and sirens, as well as seeing smoke and increased traffic on the roads and in the air.

The army stressed that the drill was planned in advance as part of a wider combat readiness program for 2018.

The Sde Dov site in the north of the city is also home to a civilian airport that mainly handles domestic flights. Discussions are continuing over the future of the site, which is due to close for redevelopment of the land.

Earlier this month the Israeli military ombudsman criticized the army’s plan to internally investigate his allegations that it is unprepared for war, in the latest bout of an increasingly public squabble over the Israel Defense Forces’ combat readiness.

In recent months, Maj. Gen. (res.) Yitzhak Brick, formally known as the chief complaints officer in the Defense Ministry, has led a campaign against the IDF top brass, particularly chief of staff Lt. Gen. Gadi Eisenkot, warning of deep problems in the IDF which he says are in large part the result of the army’s ongoing streamlining effort, the Gideon Plan.

Brick has released multiple reports to the Knesset that detail his belief that the military is not prepared to fight another full-scale war, particularly the ground forces.

To address the allegations, Eisenkot this month appointed a panel of senior officers — some in active duty, but most of them reservists — led by the IDF comptroller, Brig. Gen. (res.) Ilan Harari, to assess the military’s combat fitness. With the internal review, the military hoped to avoid an outside investigatory committee.

Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman has defended the military against accusations that it was unprepared for war but acknowledged that the army had some “problems.”

Judah Ari Gross contributed to this report.