American and Israeli soldiers involved in the Juniper Falcon joint military exercise. Photo: US Army.

The US and Israeli militaries completed a major joint exercise on Thursday.

According to Yediot Ahronot, the exercise, code-named Juniper Falcon 2019, took place over more than a week and included around 700 soldiers.

The drill was prepared over the course of a year and was similar to the Juniper Cobra exercises that take place biennially.

The primary purpose of the exercise was to simulate a massive missile attack on Israel from Lebanon, Syria, Iran and Iranian-controlled militias in Iraq. The American role was to help provide air defenses and collaboration at the command level.

The exercise concentrated on intelligence, operational and logistical coordination between the American and Israeli militaries. This includes the use of American military assets outside of Israel, such as aircraft carriers in the Persian Gulf.

Yediot noted that this year’s exercise took on a new relevance given Israel’s ongoing campaign against Iran’s attempt to entrench itself in Syria.

Watch a video of the exercise below (via the IDF):

היום הושלם תרגיל “Juniper Falcon 2019” המשותף לצה”ל וצבא ארצות הברית https://t.co/Y0h8rN0SRK pic.twitter.com/HERku47IJ8

— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) February 14, 2019