A large training exercise simulating a terror attack was held at the Ramon airport on Sunday. Participating in the drill was the Airport Authority, the IDF, the Border Police, the Israeli Police and MDA. The point of the drill was to test the level of preparedness of emergency forces in the event of a terror attack at Israel’s new southern airport.

The commander of the drill, Col. Yuval Ben-Dov, said: “An international airport, by its very nature, is a focal point for events and threats of every kind. Situations of foreign entry into airports are scenarios that occurred in the past, and it is our duty to prepare ourselves for any scenario that might happen.”

The training exercise simulated a scenario in which a “terrorist” entered the airport from the nearby border with Jordan, while other armed terrorists began deploying in the area.

“Everyone was mobilized at the same time and they had to work together to succeed in neutralizing the incident,” Ben-Dov said.

The simulation continued that the “terrorists” began to open fire on civilians shortly after the security forces arrived.

“Sharpness is the name of the game. When you receive reports of the burning of an aviation gas station alongside an infiltration event, all that can be done is to act as you are trained to, to exercise your judgment and to use all the means at your disposal,” said Ben-Dov.

“We wanted to create situations that would raise questions so that in the case of a real incident, everyone would know what to do. The teams need to operate smoothly from the moment the problem is identified until it is thwarted.”