The shift represents a conceptual change, under which the IAF commander approved an updated mission for the air and space arm, formally adding “border defense” to its mandate.By Lilach Shoval, Israel Hayom via JNSAs part of the lessons learned in the wake of the Oct. 7, 2023, failure, the IDF says aerial readiness in the Israel Air Force has increased by more than 250% compared to the initial response to the Hamas onslaught on the northwestern Negev.With the implementation of a new aerial border defense plan, readiness levels for fighter jet armaments have risen by 275%, attack helicopter readiness has doubled, overall munitions readiness has increased to more than 200%, and intervention helicopter readiness has jumped by over 400%.In addition, an attack helicopter squadron has been redeployed northward to raise alert levels in that sector.Meeting the new operational demands requires the IDF to procure additional aircraft, including Apache attack helicopters, while also extending the service life of older platforms.Alert schedules have been revised. Fighter pilots, for example, are now expected to strike within minutes of being called up, compared with 45 minutes under the alert posture in place on Oct. 6.Within the first hour, they are required to strike at least 60 targets to disrupt enemy activity.Minimum requirements have also been set for the number of unmanned aerial vehicles that must be airborne at any given time, as well as for the quantity and types of munitions carried by various aircraft.Five helicopters have been placed on constant alert to rapidly deploy intervention forces from Shayetet 13 (Flotilla 13, naval commandos), the General Staff Reconnaissance Unit (Sayeret Matkal) and Shaldag (air force commandos).To enable rapid insertion of forces near unfolding incidents, the IDF has prepared hundreds of landing zones across the country, allowing troops to be set down in numerous locations.In Judea and Samaria alone, more than 500 landing zones have been established.The IDF stresses that the IAF does not replace regional commands for border defense. However, despite the fact that the air force met all of its alert requirements on Oct. 7 and even exceeded them, it proved ineffective in the face of the scale of the attack.As a result, the aerial response to eruptive incidents has been fundamentally reworked.Rules of engagement have also been revised. Under the new directives, when a division commander issues the code word “Ra’am,” [“Thunder”] signaling an eruptive incident within the division area of responsibility, orders come into force that delegate significantly greater authority to pilots.For example, pilots may strike enemy forces identified either on Israeli territory or across the border, while making every effort to safeguard Israeli troops and civilians.Fighter jets have also been assigned predefined targets in every sector based on terrain analysis.Even if contact with headquarters cannot be established, pilots know that during an incident in a given sector they are to strike targets already designated in advance.To cope with dozens of simultaneous incidents, the IAF has defined “air combat teams,” combining crews from observation, transport, attack helicopter and UAV squadrons.These teams are usually positioned close to the area of operations and can divide and manage incidents from the air if the force’s central command bunker becomes overloaded.To embed the changes, a “Border Defense Airpower” conference was held about two weeks ago for commanders and officers from the air and ground forces.The shift represents a conceptual change, under which the IAF commander approved an updated mission for the air and space arm, formally adding “border defense” to its mandate.In parallel, the Participation and Helicopters Command has changed its name and mission to the Participation and Border Defense Command.Headed by an officer with the rank of brigadier general, the command is now responsible for border defense during eruptive incidents and for providing aerial support to ground maneuvering forces.In addition, while on Oct. 7 the IAF operated via a single control, during the war a new control, dubbed “Oz,” was established.It operates around the clock and is tasked with providing a rapid aerial umbrella to all forces fighting across all fronts.Further changes include adding a phone to pilots’ helmets and distributing the phone numbers of all local security coordinators nationwide to every squadron.In light of the communications breakdowns on Oct. 7, the IDF has also institutionalized five communication channels linking forces managing incidents in the air and on the ground, ranging from standard military communications to the use of civilian networks to ensure connectivity between all forces responding to an event.The post How Oct. 7 forced the Israel Air Force to change everything appeared first on World Israel News.