Col. Shmulik Friedman. Photo: Yehonatan Ben-David, Bamahane

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The last Lag Baomer holiday before the Lebanon War is imprinted in the memory and the body of Col. Shmulik Friedman. A smoke canister tube discharged from a Centurion tank was shot into a circle of IDF tanks, and where Col. Friedman, today the commander of the GOC Army Headquarters Experiments and Quality Assurance (EQA) unit and then a combat soldier in the Armored Corps Battalion 71, was wounded. It is unlikely that he knew then that one day he would be the final authority for permitting any weaponry to be used in IDF combat units.

Despite that, or maybe because of that, he acknowledges that even after a type of weaponry has passed through his hands, tragic accidents can happen. “I cannot confirm that nothing will happen, what does it mean to be safe,” wonders Col. Friedman. “We at the EQA conduct all the tests, investigate the possible dangers and analyze them. Of course something can happen, but the chance is small. I know that we did everything possible, as well as we could, so that the combat soldiers receive safe products. That’s what is most important.”

The EQA unit was founded on the basis of the former units: the Experiments Unit and the Quality Assurance Unit. Since the Six Day War, the soldiers of the unit receive reports on every safety related mishap in the IDF, collect data from every operation and every war, and examine any AFV that caused problems. From these investigations, the unit developed, for example, the Merkava battle tank protection system, and the Merkava Mark IV battle tank.

Maj. Gen. (res.) Israel Tal, the founder of the project, was also the one who created the unique infrastructure of the EQA unit, which allows the Ground Forces, the IAF and even civilian security companies to carry out tests with new weaponry and AFVs in a safe environment. “The risk my soldiers take is very high,” says Col. Friedman, “They use completely unusual munitions. Nothing would ever be allowed for use in the units without our tests. No one will take responsibility for weaponry or vehicles being used if we don’t approve of it. Indeed, also a missile can turn around back towards you. Unwanted things can happen. Mistakes are not allowed to be made. If mistakes are made – it’s a disaster.”

On the basis of these vehicles, the EQA tries to reconstruct the moment of failure.

Investigating Operations

The main experiment field of the EQA also contains an area where all damaged military vehicles are collected. On the basis of these vehicles, the EQA tries to reconstruct the moment of failure. “We had a big breakthrough in this field during the last few years, and we can now take shrapnel of a bullet or a missile and know what happened,” says Col. Friedman. “We are investigating very sensitive issues – we examined a helicopter that crashed during the Second Lebanon War. And we were also part of the investigations of the capture of Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev.”

Operation Cast Lead was also an important period for the EQA unit. Following incidents of fire from two sides during the operation, the unit developed within 24 hours a special means for the combat forces to avoid the repetition of those incidents. Workshops were opened after work hours to supply the units with the new development, which is currently being tested in the field units and will probably enter service within the next year. In addition, a whole list of new weaponry was developed by the Israel Military Industries following Operation Cast Lead – which are currently being tested by the EQA.

“During Operation Cat Lead, we learnt about our operational gaps and following the decision of the head of the project we worked 24 hours a day,” remembers Friedman. “Some of the tests were carried out in the middle of the field. We gave the weapon to a combat soldier and at the same time instructed him on how to use it. With the Matador, a new anti-tank missile used by the Infantry Corps units, we carried out tests and discovered problems. If we hadn’t tested it, and someone had used it, there might have been a terrible accident.”