Kela 2008 Plan
Israel began to reshape its military forces as reported in the press as the "Kela 2008" ["all-encompassing"] plan. With the ‘‘eastern front’’ now gone, the IDF was discussing the possibility of combining the West Bank and the Gaza Strip under one command and whether a separate Southern Command is still needed against Egypt. Other major aspects of the plan include transforming Merkava Mk 1 and 2 main battle tank (MBT) chassis or newly produced Merkava Mk 4 hulls into a new, heavily armored personnel carrier (APC) called the ‘‘Nemara’’ (Tigress).
To improve their C4I, Kela 2008 introduced the Tsayad Project, intended to fully integrate all ground platforms with broadband communications capabilities. The plan also calls for heavy investments into researching and procuring UAVs. Currently Israel produces UAVs for countries such as India. Israel is India’s sole provider of UAVs, and the contract signed in 2005 would ensure that continues. The contract between the two provides that Israel and India would begin to develop three new UAVs: the Rustam medium-altitude long-endurance UAV, the Pawan shortrange UAV, and the Gagan tactical UAV. Needless to say, the development of the UAVs is beneficial to both countries. The military would outsource maintenance and administration functions in an effort to cut costs further.
Initiatives that would surely raise concerns among soldiers and veterans are a move to cut wages up to 20 percent, the elimination of welfare programs for officers, and the increase in the minimum retirement age. Overall, the army would cut 10 percent of its regular forces and minimize the use of unskilled reservists who typically incur large operating expenses.
In addition, a panel of industrialists, former generals, and security experts recommended further reductions on top of the Kela plan. The panelists want to decrease the number of combat helicopters by 20 percent, the number of tanks by an additional 10 percent, the older fighter planes by 5 percent, and the patrol boats by 15 percent. Reportedly, the resulting force numbers would be sufficient to face Israel’s threats.
Other reports indicate that Israeli concerns over funding and the threat of budget reduction had led the navy, the army, and the air force to fight fiercely over U.S. Foreign Military Financing allocations. The navy was once thought to have been assured a lion’s share, but the other services have raised questions as to whether Israel would be best served by using those funds to purchase additional Arrow missile batteries, Apache AH-64Ds, or Stryker armored vehicles. It seemed likely that the navy would have used those funds to purchase additional missile corvettes, ostensibly to counter threats from Libya. However, Libya is perceived as somewhat less threatening and there has been a second successful test of the Arrow system, making it unclear which service would secure the funds.
The effect these changes would have on the IDF’s ability to confront the Palestinian militants is unclear. Some reports indicate that the IDF believes that Kela 2008 would streamline its forces, make them more effective, and cut unnecessary costs. However, some of the measures, such as the pay cuts and elimination of jobs, are likely to be highly unpopular and run the risk of fomenting discontent within the military. Such cuts in benefits may discourage Israelis from pursuing long-term military careers at a time when Israel leans increasingly heavily on the IDF despite reduced threats from Iraq and Syria.
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