, ''Tih'cum Ve'otzma'') , song= , mascot= , equipment= , equipment_label= , battles= *

War of Independence This is a list of wars of independence (also called liberation wars). These wars may or may not have been successful in achieving a goal of independence. List See also * Lists of active separatist movements * List of civil wars * List of o ...

Sinai War The Suez Crisis, or the Second Arab–Israeli war, also called the Tripartite Aggression ( ar, العدوان الثلاثي, Al-ʿUdwān aṯ-Ṯulāṯiyy) in the Arab world and the Sinai War in Israel,Also known as the Suez War or 1956 Wa ...

Six-Day War The Six-Day War (, ; ar, النكسة, , or ) or June War, also known as the 1967 Arab–Israeli War or Third Arab–Israeli War, was fought between Israel and a coalition of Arab world, Arab states (primarily United Arab Republic, Egypt, S ...

War of Attrition The War of Attrition ( ar, حرب الاستنزاف, Ḥarb al-Istinzāf; he, מלחמת ההתשה, Milhemet haHatashah) involved fighting between Israel and Egypt, Jordan, the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) and their allies from ...

Yom Kippur War The Yom Kippur War, also known as the Ramadan War, the October War, the 1973 Arab–Israeli War, or the Fourth Arab–Israeli War, was an armed conflict fought from October 6 to 25, 1973 between Israel and a coalition of Arab states led by Egy ...

First Lebanon War The 1982 Lebanon War, dubbed Operation Peace for Galilee ( he, מבצע שלום הגליל, or מבצע של"ג ''Mivtsa Shlom HaGalil'' or ''Mivtsa Sheleg'') by the Israeli government, later known in Israel as the Lebanon War or the First L ...

Second Lebanon War The 2006 Lebanon War, also called the 2006 Israel–Hezbollah War and known in Lebanon as the July War ( ar, حرب تموز, ''Ḥarb Tammūz'') and in Israel as the Second Lebanon War ( he, מלחמת לבנון השנייה, ''Milhemet Leva ...

Operation Cast Lead Operation or Operations may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * ''Operation'' (game), a battery-operated board game that challenges dexterity * Operation (music), a term used in musical set theory * ''Operations'' (magazine), Multi-Man ...

Operation Protective Edge The 2014 Gaza War, also known as Operation Protective Edge ( he, מִבְצָע צוּק אֵיתָן, translit=Miv'tza Tzuk Eitan, ), was a military operation launched by Israel on 8 July 2014 in the Gaza Strip, a Palestinian territories, Pale ...

, anniversaries= , decorations= , battle_honours= , commander1= Neri Horowitz , commander1_label= , commander2= , commander2_label= , commander3= , commander3_label= , commander4= , commander4_label= , notable_commanders= , identification_symbol= , identification_symbol_label=Cap badge , identification_symbol_2= , identification_symbol_2_label= , identification_symbol_3= , identification_symbol_3_label= , identification_symbol_4= , identification_symbol_4_label= , aircraft_helicopter= The

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

i Artillery Corps ( he, חיל התותחנים, ''Heil HaTothanim'') is the

Israel Defense Forces The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; he, צְבָא הַהֲגָנָה לְיִשְׂרָאֵל , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the Israel, State of Israel. It consists of three servic ...

corps responsible for operating medium and long-range

artillery Artillery is a class of heavy military ranged weapons that launch munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during siege ...

. The current commander of the Artillery Corps is Brigadier General Neri Horowitz. He replaced Brig. Gen. Aviram Sela. The corps is tasked with two principal missions: # Assisting IDF maneuvering forces, at the place, time and with the firepower required. # Paralyzing and destroying enemy targets throughout the IDF zone of operations.

Structure

The Artillery Corps is an integral corps of

GOC Army Headquarters The GOC Army Headquarters ( he, מפקדת זרוע היבשה, ''Mifkedet Zro'a HaYabasha'', abbreviated Mazi), is a multi-corps command headquarters created in 1998, which amalgamates the ground forces of the Israel Defense Forces. The current ...

. It is a diverse corps, with its lion share consisting of high-trajectory barrel artillery. The corps consist of three main support regiments: * 214th "David's Sling" Artillery Regiment,

UAV An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), commonly known as a drone, is an aircraft without any human pilot, crew, or passengers on board. UAVs are a component of an unmanned aircraft system (UAS), which includes adding a ground-based controller ...

training unit * 215th "Pillar of Fire" Artillery Regiment, composed of the regular-service battalions Drakon ("Dragon") and Reshef ("Flash") as well as reserve battalions. * 282nd "Golan" Artillery Regiment, composed of the regular Namer ("Leopard") and Keren ("Ray") battalions, the Ra'am ("Thunder")

MLRS A multiple rocket launcher (MRL) or multiple launch rocket system (MLRS) is a type of rocket artillery system that contains multiple launchers which are fixed to a single platform, and shoots its rocket ordnance in a fashion similar to a voll ...

battalion, as well as additional reserve battalions. * 425th "Fire Flame" Artillery Regiment, artillery training unit The corps also operates the

Field Artillery Field artillery is a category of mobile artillery used to support armies in the field. These weapons are specialized for mobility, tactical proficiency, short range, long range, and extremely long range target engagement. Until the early 20t ...

School and a training center. The corps' importance to the

IDF IDF or idf may refer to: Defence forces * Irish Defence Forces * Israel Defense Forces *Iceland Defense Force, of the US Armed Forces, 1951-2006 * Indian Defence Force, a part-time force, 1917 Organizations * Israeli Diving Federation * Interac ...

is growing due to the rapid evolution of modern technology. The corps is amongst the most advanced components of the IDF, using advanced technology to improve its precision and effectiveness. During the

the Israeli Artillery Corps was second only to the

Israeli Air Force The Israeli Air Force (IAF; he, זְרוֹעַ הָאֲוִיר וְהֶחָלָל, Zroa HaAvir VeHahalal, tl, "Air and Space Arm", commonly known as , ''Kheil HaAvir'', "Air Corps") operates as the aerial warfare branch of the Israel Defense ...

in the firepower it expended. Artillery Corps soldiers wear Turquoise

berets A beret ( or ; ; eu, txapela, ) is a soft, round, flat-crowned cap, usually of woven, hand-knitted wool, crocheted cotton, wool felt, or acrylic fibre. Mass production of berets began in 19th century France in the long nineteenth century, ...

and black army boots.

Reserve units

* 209th "Kadion" (Reserve) Artillery Regiment * 213th "Revival" (Reserve) Artillery Regiment * 454th "Tabor" (Reserve) Artillery Regiment * 738th (Reserve) Artillery Regiment

Equipment

The primary equipment used in most regular and reserve batteries is the M109 "Doher" (Galloper) self-propelled howitzer. To assist with ammunition carriage and transport, regular batteries use the

M548 The M548 is a tracked cargo carrier. It is based on the M113 armored personnel carrier, and was built by FMC Corp. at its San Jose, California, and Charleston, West Virginia facilities. Design Its light weight allows the use of a relatively sma ...

, a modified version of the M113 carrier, nicknamed "Alpha". In addition, batteries also use

Humvee The High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle (HMMWV; colloquial: Humvee) is a family of light, four-wheel drive, military trucks and utility vehicles produced by AM General. It has largely supplanted the roles previously performed by the ori ...

s and M113 carriers. Also in service is the

M270 MLRS The M270 Multiple Launch Rocket System (M270 MLRS) is an American-developed armored, self-propelled, multiple rocket launcher. The U.S. Army variant of the MLRS vehicle is based on the chassis of the Bradley Fighting Vehicle. The first M270s wer ...

multiple rocket launcher, the Spike NLOS missile system mounted on M113 chassis for precision strike, as well as the

Elbit Hermes 450 The Elbit Hermes 450 is an Israeli medium-sized multi-payload unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) designed for tactical long endurance missions. It has an endurance of over 20 hours, with a primary mission of reconnaissance, surveillance and communicat ...

and IAI Sky Rider UAVs for

artillery spotting An artillery observer, artillery spotter or forward observer (FO) is responsible for directing artillery and mortar fire onto a target. It may be a ''forward air controller'' (FAC) for close air support (CAS) and spotter for naval gunfire sup ...

. On order are the IMI Lynx and IAI JUMPER multiple rocket launchers to bolster its strike capability against enemy positions and rocket-launching cells. In addition, the corps also possesses radar and navigation system, some of which are classified. In 1977, the IDF began developing another self-propelled howitzer, the "Sholef" (Gun-slinger), based on the M109 with a

Merkava The Merkava ( he, מרכבה, , "chariot") is a series of main battle tanks used by the Israel Defense Forces and the backbone of the IDF's armored corps. The tank began development in 1970, and its first generation, the Merkava mark 1, entere ...

chassis. The main advantage of the "Sholef" was its self-loading ability, which reduced the number of crewmen from 7 to 4. The project was completed but the IDF decided not to mass-produce the "Sholef" because of its high cost, preferring to purchase the

multiple rocket launcher instead. Its main focus switched to improving the precision systems of the "Doher". The "Sholef" was used operationally only once, in 1990. In 2010, Israel began an overhaul of the Artillery Corps, based on lessons from the

2006 Lebanon War The 2006 Lebanon War, also called the 2006 Israel–Hezbollah War and known in Lebanon as the July War ( ar, حرب تموز, ''Ḥarb Tammūz'') and in Israel as the Second Lebanon War ( he, מלחמת לבנון השנייה, ''Milhemet Leva ...

. The Artillery Corps is being upgraded with new, indigenously produced self-propelled cannons, rockets, missiles produced by Israel's defense industries, which will replace older equipment, as well as state-of-the-art command, control, computers, and communications. Its operational role now reflects a new concept in which artillery is seen as an equal part of the combat force rather than a support element.

Training

The Israeli Artillery Corps holds its basic training, commanders course and officers school at the Field Artillery School ( he, ביסל"ת, ''Bislat''), better known as

Shivta Shivta ( he, שבטה), originally Sobata ( gr, Σόβατα) or Subeita ( ar, شبطا), is an ancient city in the Negev Desert of Israel located 43 kilometers southwest of Beersheba. Shivta was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in June 20 ...

, after the ancient

Nabataean The Nabataeans or Nabateans (; Nabataean Aramaic: , , vocalized as ; Arabic: , , singular , ; compare grc, Ναβαταῖος, translit=Nabataîos; la, Nabataeus) were an ancient Arab people who inhabited northern Arabia and the southern Lev ...

town of the same name. New recruits go through four months of basic training, in which they learn basic infantry weaponry and drills, as well as basic theoretical artillery training. At the end of the basic training stage, the recruits receive their Turquoise

, symbolizing their acceptance into the corps. They then advance to an additional four months of advanced training, throughout which they participate in

operations. After completing their training, soldiers either join operational batteries or advance to the commanders course, for an additional four months of training.

Notable alumni

* Dan Harel * Danny Robas * Yuval Banay *

Shlomo Artzi Shlomo Artzi ( he, שלמה ארצי) is an Israeli folk rock musician, composer, music producer, radio broadcaster columnist and singer-songwriter. He was born on November 26, 1949, in Moshav Alonei Abba. In the course of his career, he has so ...

Yair Nitzani Yair Nitzani ( he, יָאִיר נִיצָּנִי; born August 22, 1958) is an Israeli musician, songwriter, TV host and comedian. Early life Yair Nitzani was born in Beersheba in 1958. He is of Italian-Jewish descent. After serving in the Isra ...

* Amos Lapidot

References

{{Israel Defense Forces Corps of Israel Artillery administrative corps Military units and formations established in 1948