Halamish Plan
The word "halamish" appears five times in the bible. It means a hard and solid rock, and was rendered into English as flint. It was also the name of the IDF's multi-year plan for the coming five years 2012-2016. Contrary to the running myth, the plan's codename was not randomly chosen by a computer program, but was given after much thought by the head of the General Staff Planning Branch, Major General Amir Eshel, when he assumed his post eighteen months ago.
"Halamish" was based on a "reference scenario" - the worst-case scenario that IDF force building was based on. But when "Halamish" was first conceived the Middle East was an entirely different place. The peace agreements with Egypt stood rock solid; even if war with Iran, Syria, Hezbollah, and Hamas loomed on the horizon. But since then the threat from the "Iranian axis" escalated. With the demise of the Mubarak regime, a re-examination of the plan's basic postulates was called for (beyond increasing the level of readiness of units in the south – a step that will probably be taken and even receive "supplementary" budgeting from the political level). The IDF had two options: either rebuild its order of battle to provide answers in the case of a multiple-front war, or stick with the reference scenario while taking a "calculated risk."
In 2011 Chief of Staff Lt.- Gen. Benny Gantz drafted the Halamish multi-year budget plan that was supposed to go into effect last summer but has been suspended pending a decision on the extent of cuts to the defense budget. The plan outlined development and procurement programs for the coming five years and was supposed to replace “Tefen” – the plan in place until 2012. “Now that we are in an election year, the uncertainty surrounding the defense budget will likely continue,” a senior defense official said 08 May 2012. In January, the IDF suspended the implementation of the procurement plan after the Treasury announced cuts to the defense budget.
The Halamish plan was expected to continue the investment in IDF ground forces – started after the Second Lebanon War in 2006 – and will see the procurement of additional missile-defense systems – like the Iron Dome and the David’s Sling – as well as new interceptors for the Arrow ballistic missile-defense system. In new systems, the Artillery Corps was looking to purchase new accurate rocket systems that would provide ground forces with standoff precision attack capabilities without needing to rely on the air force for air support.
In new systems, the Artillery Corps was looking to purchase new accurate rocket systems that would provide ground forces with standoff precision attack capabilities without needing to rely on the air force for air support. The plan was also expected to lead to a dramatic boost in Israel’s intelligence-collection capabilities – with the procurement of new special electronics mission aircraft and unmanned aerial vehicles – as well as new defenses for critical military infrastructure from cyber-attacks by countries like Iran.
Israel's observational satellites take up a large chunk of the multi-year Halamish plan the army was preparing. The satellites - there are four government-owned ones and two privately owned ones in orbit, all of whose images are used by Israeli intelligence - take up a large chunk of the multi-year Halamish plan. The air force would like to have enough satellites to keep the Middle East covered well enough that there would be no spot where Israel cannot see what's going on once every 15 minutes.
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