US Marines and Israeli soldiers trained in a mock Middle East village - and learned the harsh realities of urban warfare
US Marines and Israeli soldiers trained in a mock Middle East village - and learned the harsh realities of urban warfare
The main focus of Juniper Cobra is urban warfare training.
Some of the urban warfare simulations were live fire drills, meaning live ammunition was used to make it as realistic as possible.
US Marines and Israeli soldiers taught each other lessons they had learned from the respective war zones they had been deployed to.
The mock village used in the exercise included Arabic graffiti and a mosque, and was made to look like an average Middle Eastern town.
Everything from house clearing operations to offensive operations in an urban environment was practiced.
One of the first lessons of urban combat: be sure to watch the surrounding rooftops.
Medical evacuations, also known as medevacs, were practiced.
Some armored vehicles were used, like this LAV-25 from the US Marines.
The exercise also included anti-air and anti-missile drills.
US Marines and Israeli soldiers practiced missions with large transport helicopters, like the Sikorsky CH-53E Super Stallion.
CH-53E Super Stallions picked up and dropped off Marines and Israeli soldiers, and demonstrated its heavy lift capability as well.
Helicopter insertions were also an important part of the exercises.
As were small UAV operations.
The helicopters, which included V-22 Ospreys, came from the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit, and carried the Marines from the USS Iwo Jima to Israel from the Mediterranean.