Eitan Ben Eliyahu | |
|---|---|
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| Born | 1944 Jerusalem, Mandatory Palestine |
| Allegiance |  Israel |
| Service/ |  Israeli Air Force |
| Rank | Aluf |
| Battles/wars | Yom Kippur War Operation Opera |
Aluf Eitan Ben Eliyahu (born 1944) [1] is a retired major general in the Israel Defense Forces and was the Commander of the Israeli Air Force (IAF).
Eliyahu's father was born in Khorramshahr, Iran, and in 1922 immigrated to British-mandated Palestine; Eliyahu's mother was from North Macedonia. [2] [3] Eliyahu himself was born in Jerusalem in 1944. [1] During the 1973 Yom Kippur War, Eliyahu shot down two Egyptian fighters as he led a squadron of F-4 Phantoms. June 27, 1979 over Lebanon, while flying an F-15 Eagle as part of a 4 ship formation, he shot down a Syrian MiG 21 with the M61 cannon scoring the first recorded guns kill (the 3rd air to air kill) for the F-15. In 1981 he flew as fighter escort during Operation Opera, which resulted in the destruction of Iraq's Osirak nuclear reactor. [1] Eliyahu served as commander of an F-15 squadron, member of the IAF Aerobatic Team, [4] a base commander, head of the Operational Requirements Division, and in 1987 was appointed Head of Operations for the IAF. [5] On July 1, 1996 Eliyahu was promoted to Commander of the IAF. [6] Over the course of his tenure Eliyahu focused on extending the range of IAF operations, especially in regard to Iran. [1] As such, Eliyahu ordered 25 F-15I fighters, which had a longer range than Israel's previously purchased F-15s. [1] Eliyahu stepped down as IAF commander on April 4, 2000. [6]
Since leaving active duty, Eliyahu founded and serves as CEO of the Sentry Technology Group, and was the president of East West Ventures Ltd. from 2000 to 2002. [7] He serves as the Board Chairman of the Koret Foundation's Israel Economic Development Fund and of Aeronautics Defense systems, [8] and as the Co-Chair of the Israel National Museum of Science. Eliyahu is also on the boards of Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Zionism 2000, the Israel Democracy Institute, and the Rabin Research Center. [5] [7]
Eliyahu studied at Bar Ilan University, where he received a B.A. in economics and business administration. He also earned an M.A. [9] from Tel Aviv University in strategy and international relations and attended Harvard's six-week Advanced Management Program. [10]
Ilan Ramon was an Israeli fighter pilot and later the first Israeli astronaut. He served as a Space Shuttle payload specialist on STS-107, the fatal mission of Columbia, in which he and the six other crew members were killed when the spacecraft disintegrated during re-entry. At 48, Ramon was the oldest member of the crew. He is the only foreign recipient of the United States Congressional Space Medal of Honor, which was awarded posthumously.
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Eliahu or Eliyahu is a masculine Hebrew given name and surname of biblical origin. It means "My God is Yahweh" and derives from the prophet Elijah who, according to the Bible, lived during the reign of King Ahab.
The 69 "Hammers" Squadron is an Israeli Air Force squadron operating the F-15I Thunder out of Hatzerim. It was formed in July 1948 to operate three B-17 Flying Fortresses which the fledgling Israeli Air Force had acquired in the United States. The squadron flew the Flying Fortress, an aircraft credited with propelling the IAF into the realm of modern aerial warfare, during both the 1948 Arab–Israeli War and 1956 Suez Crisis. Disbanded in early 1957, 69 Squadron reformed in 1969 to fly the F-4 Phantom II.
Ron Huldai is an Israeli politician and businessman who has been Mayor of Tel Aviv since 1998. Before taking office as mayor, Huldai served as a fighter pilot and commander in the Israeli Air Force. After leaving the Israel Defense Force as a brigadier general, he entered the business world and was later headmaster of the Herzliya Hebrew Gymnasium in Tel Aviv.
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