IDF Plans Major Overhaul of Armored Corps Training

The IDF is preparing a sweeping change to the Armored Corps training system, first reported by Makor Rishon. Under the new plan, Brigade 460 at Shizafon will no longer be the sole body training armored fighters, and much of that responsibility will shift directly to the combat brigades.

According to the emerging plan, recruits will spend only 3.5 months at Shizafon, covering basic training and their professional specialization. From the company-platoon level stage onward, each brigade will train its own soldiers in dedicated brigade training bases, or BAHADs, that will be established for them.

The new structure is meant to resemble the model used in the infantry. It would create near-continuous command from the start of service, give brigade and battalion commanders direct responsibility for troops and earlier familiarity with them, and allow each brigade to tailor training more precisely to its operational needs.

Brigade 188 is expected to be the first to adopt the new model, followed by Brigades 7 and 401. In the historic Brigade 460, only Battalion 195, which handles basic training, along with the MLAR and Battalion 196, are expected to remain. The IDF also sees a broader operational logic in placing the new training bases near Israel's borders, both to strengthen its hold on border areas and to expand manpower. The shift back to brigade-level training is effectively a return to the structure used about 20 years ago.