Kfir Brigade drill focuses on war against Hezbollah
Brigade has been undergoing changes to make it into a deadlier maneuvering force with new capabilities and manpower
The IDF’s Kfir Brigade held a large-scale drill preparing its troops for a war on Israel’s northern front, the first since changes were implemented to make it a deadlier maneuvering force last year.
The week-long drill saw new capabilities and weapons including drones tested by the troops in order for them to contend with “whatever the next war might bring, especially against Hezbollah but also in Gaza and the West Bank,” Maj. Guy Cohen, operations officer in the 92nd Battalion, told The Jerusalem Post.
“Before the changes, the brigade had fewer capabilities than other brigades in terms of manpower and weapons,” Cohen said.
The IDF’s largest infantry brigade, the Kfir Brigade has five battalions: Nachshon Battalion (90th), Shimshon Battalion (92th), Haruv Battalion (93th), Duchifat Battalion (94th), and Netzah Yehuda Battalion (97th).
Established in 2005 as a response to the need to combat Palestinian terrorism in the West Bank, the brigade specializes in fighting in both the West Bank and Gaza fronts. With the new changes, the brigade will be able to confront enemy forces on both the Southern and Northern fronts.
As part of the new plan, the Kfir Brigade will undergo significant changes to its structure and will operate like the IDF’s other maneuvering brigades: the Paratroopers, Givati, Golani and Nahal brigades.
Under the process the brigade will receive new weaponry, personnel, wheeled and non-tread armored personnel carriers and increase their training with a focus on fighting the enemy in urban combat areas.
According to Cohen, the changes will be completed and all the weapons trained on by the end of 2022.
“The changes will turn Kfir into a more lethal maneuvering infantry force,” he said, “and that’s what we worked on during the drill.”
The drill, he said, was significant and important for the battalion because Lebanon is the IDF’s biggest challenge.
Cohen told the Post that the standard setting drill simulated the main challenges that the brigade is expected to face in a war on the northern front and troops had to contend with enemy forces that acted like Hezbollah to “really challenge the troops who needed to know how to deal with them.”
“It was very challenging, the mental cognitive part was very challenging,” he said. “To go from one mission to another in a small amount of time, mentally you need to be working 24/7.”
IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Aviv Kohavi believes it is of utmost importance to build the military for threats it will face some 30 years in the future and build the new multi-year plan accordingly, with new concepts and methods of warfare which have been adapted to the challenges of the urban battlefield saturated with enemy fire.
The “Momentum” multi-year plan, which is built on the IDF’s new victory concept, uses the motto “readiness and change,” and focuses on improving the military’s defensive and offensive capabilities. Its guiding principle is to win any future war as quickly as possible and with a small number of casualties.
According to Cohen, “the enemy understands that we have intelligence superiority and will wait until the last minute to appear.” But, he said, the drill “proved that we can be deadly and identify and neutralize the enemy both underground and in urban areas.”
“If you put any Kfir battalion into battle in Lebanon, we are ready. We will fight Hezbollah and we will kill them,” Cohen said.