About Me
The IDF was founded May 26, 1948 after the establishment of the state of Israel "to protect the inhabitants of Israel and to combat all forms of terrorism which threaten the daily life".The IDF succeeded the Haganah (in particular, its operational branch, the Palmach) as the permanent army of the Jewish state. It was also joined by former elements of the Jewish Brigade that fought under the British flag during World War II.After the establishment of the IDF the two Jewish underground organizations the Etzel and Lehi joined with the IDF in the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, and their members integrated into the IDF. In the years that followed, the IDF developed from an upstart army to a professional fighting force, and one of the toughest armies in the world.Israel's military technology is world famous for its tanks, tank-converted APCs, armoured bulldozers,missiles and rockets. Israel also designs and in some cases it has manufactured aircraft (Kfir, Lavi) and naval systems (patrol and missile ships). Much of the IDF's electronic systems (intelligence, communication, command and control, navigation etc.) are Israeli-developed, including many systems installed on foreign platforms (esp. aircraft, tanks and submarines). So are many of its precision-guided munitions.Israel is the only country in the world with an operational anti-ballistic missile defense system ("Hetz", Arrow, developed with funding and technology from the United States).Israel has the independent capability of launching reconnaissance satellites into orbit (a capability which only Russia, the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, the People's Republic of China, India and Japan hold). Both the satellites (Ofeq) and the launchers (Shavit) were developed by the Israeli security industries.
