Deep in Lebanon, IDF troops will watch World Cup matches in the field

Starting tonight, Thursday, with the opening whistle of the World Cup tournament, IDF fighters deep in Lebanon will not be left disconnected: the C4I Directorate will operate a classified operational system to broadcast the tournament matches live to forces in the field, Yinnon Shalom Yitach reported first.

The games will be screened inside the closed and encrypted military network, "Z-TUBE." In routine combat, this network is used by security forces to transfer sensitive operational footage, including video from strikes deep inside Iran and ongoing documentation of the forces operating on the Lebanon front.

The broadcast will reach the field within half a second. The system's biggest advantage, besides being fully secure and encrypted, is its unusual speed of data distribution. According to reports published earlier about the network's capabilities, the image appears on screens within a time range of 300 milliseconds and up to half a second from the moment it is recorded, regardless of the geographic location of the viewing force.

In addition to its fast broadcasting capabilities, the system includes advanced content-saving functions and the ability to replay the live broadcast. However, it is still unclear at this stage whether the C4I Directorate will allow the fighters to use the replay function during the tournament matches as well, or whether they will settle for the live broadcast alone.