Strategic Shield: Israel Air Force Secretly Deploys Elite All Female Commando Squad to Protect Air Bases

The Israel Air Force has officially introduced a groundbreaking, all-female special commando unit designed to operate as a rapid-response intervention force for strategic military installations. Named Arad, the dedicated combat unit was formed as a direct result of critical operational lessons compiled following the October 7th massacre and the subsequent war. Senior defense officials recognized an urgent necessity for a highly specialized ground force capable of immediately neutralizing complex infiltration attempts, raids, and terror incidents directly within and around high-value airbases.

The tactical significance of the unit became apparent during comprehensive post-attack investigations, which revealed that elite Hamas Nukhba terrorists had meticulously planned coordinated assaults on major airbases, including Hatzerim and Tel Nof. Intelligence teams discovered detailed maps of these exact military installations on the bodies of eliminated terrorist cells, proving that the facilities were primary targets. Because these bases function as critical strategic assets, ensuring their absolute operational continuity during a multi-front war is considered a top priority for national survival.

Operating under the prestigious 7th Wing, which commands the air force’s special forces assets like the 669 airborne rescue squad and the Shaldag commando unit, Arad is engineered to function as a primary first-response team. The specialized doctrine dictates that these combatants will be the very first to arrive at an active breach, isolate the perimeter, engage the immediate threat, and stabilize the chaotic environment until heavier reinforcement units can deploy to the scene. This marking a major shift from traditional security models to a highly offensive posture.

The creation of an all-women unit represents a fundamental transformation in the traditional mindset of military leadership regarding the utilization of female combatants in complex scenarios. Following the recent war, human resource departments documented a historic surge in the number of female recruits highly motivated to enlist in maximum-intensity combat roles. Air force planners emphasized that Arad was built strictly to establish a professional, high-quality force capable of delivering definitive operational impact, completely rejecting any notion that the unit serves as a mere symbolic measure.

To achieve this elite status, the selected female recruits must endure an exhaustive training regimen lasting between eight months and a full year, making it one of the most grueling tracks in the military. The comprehensive curriculum forces candidates to master small-arms warfare, advanced marksmanship, complex urban combat, rapid terror-response drills, hand-to-hand combat, tactical navigation, battlefield camouflage, and intensive mental resilience training. The training is carefully designed around realistic operational simulations, forcing troops to transition from standard routine to extreme combat situations within mere minutes.

The long-term command structure of the unit is modeled directly after the military's most elite special forces components to ensure the highest possible tactical standards. The inaugural commander of Arad is a highly experienced lieutenant-colonel who previously commanded operations within the legendary Shaldag unit. The current training and leadership staff consists entirely of seasoned veterans from top-tier special operations units, and the air force explicitly plans to promote future instructional and leadership officers from the internal ranks of the female combatants themselves.