The IDF is restructuring its armored corps training pipeline: Armor School 460 (Shizafon) will no longer be the sole training body for tank crews, and part of the responsibility will shift to the combat brigades themselves. Under the new plan, basic training and professional qualification will last about 3.5 months at Shizafon, after which soldiers will transfer to brigade-level training at dedicated battalion bases. According to journalist Yishai Elmakayes, Armored Brigade 188 is expected to be the first to implement the new model. The move is intended to strengthen command continuity, tailor training to each brigade's needs, and increase available forces on the border fronts.
The IDF has announced a significant restructuring of its armored corps training model. Armor School 460, long the sole institution for training all tank crews at the Shizafon base in southern Israel, will no longer have a monopoly on the process. Under the new model, basic training and professional qualification will still take roughly 3.5 months at Shizafon, but soldiers will then complete their training at dedicated battalion-level training bases within each combat brigade. This shift places more responsibility directly on the brigades that the soldiers will eventually serve in.
According to a report first published by military journalist Yishai Elmakayes, Armored Brigade 188 is expected to be the first to adopt the model. The change aims to strengthen command continuity — brigade commanders will oversee a greater share of the training of their own soldiers — and to allow each brigade to tailor training to its specific operational needs. An additional stated goal is to increase the number of forces available for deployment on active border fronts, by streamlining and shortening parts of the pipeline.
No timeline for full implementation has been provided in the reports. The restructuring represents a notable shift in IDF training doctrine for the armored corps, which has been central to ground operations in recent years.
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