JERUSALEM, Oct. 20 (Xinhua) -- Israel and the United States will kick off a large-scale joint military exercise on Wednesday in a bid to enhance interoperability of their air defense systems, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announced on Tuesday.

    "In accordance with long-standing bilateral agreements, the U.S. European Command (EUCOM) will be participating with the IDF in an air defense exercise, known as Juniper Cobra 10, between October 21 and November 5, 2009," said the IDF.

    Approximately 1,000 EUCOM personnel and a similar number of IDF troops will participate in the fifth biennial Juniper Cobra maneuvers, which are "part of a routine training cycle designed to improve the interoperability of both air defense systems," added the Israeli army.

    During the drill, which was originally scheduled to start last week, Israel's Arrow missile defense system will be tested together with three U.S. systems, namely THAAD, Aegis and PAC-3, which will be deployed in Israel temporarily for the exercise, reported local daily The Jerusalem Post.

    While the IDF said that "this exercise is not in response to any world events," the joint drill is widely seen as a response of the two allies to Iran's alleged pursuit of nuclear weapons, and as a precaution against a possible showdown with the Islamic republic.

    Iran insists that its nuclear programs are purely for civilian purposes, yet Israel has so far refused to rule out the option of taking military action against Iran's nuclear sites.

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