Wary of missiles attacking sensitive military installations in a future war, the IDF has approved a NIS 1.5 billion plan to build backup facilities and reinforce sites that could be targeted.

As of May, the IDF has budgeted NIS 750 million for the project, with plans to allocate the second half by the end of 2012. The IDF Home Front Command and Operations Directorate chooses the list of installations that require the reinforcement or construction of secondary facilities.

Despite having a secondary facility under construction, a key IDF base in the North will be retrofitted. The IDF fears that the base will undergo heavy damage in a future war and therefore decided to build the secondary facility. That location is confidential information, located somewhere in the center of the country.

“Redundancy and secondary facilities are key elements of the program,” a senior officer explained. “This way, if one facility is damaged the other will be able to continue operating.”

Last week, The Jerusalem Post revealed that Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu approved a budget that will fortify close to a dozen critical national infrastructure sites.

The IDF recently conducted a study – based on the results of the First Gulf War, the Second Lebanon War and Operation Cast Lead – analyzing the extent of damage caused to the home front in a future war. The scenario includes the type of missiles and rockets now in Hezbollah and Hamas hands.

The study also highlights the possible degree of infrastructure damage. The IDF believes that Hezbollah may try to hit military installations with its long-range rockets but could then shift its focus to infrastructure and civilian targets at a later stage of a future war. (© 1995-2011, The Jerusalem Post 05/14/12)