This is a list of Israeli Air Force aircraft squadrons.
Unit | Name | Original name | Stationed | Aircraft | Status |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
The Phoenix Squadron | טייסת עוף החול | Hatzor Airbase | Retired: IAI Nesher, IAI Kfir, General Dynamics F-16A/B Active: Orbiter 4 | Active | |
The Goring Ram Squadron | טייסת האיל הנוגח | Palmachim Airbase | Retired: Boeing-Stearman Model 75, Douglas A-4 Skyhawk Active: Elbit Hermes 900 | Active | |
Squadron Within the Valley | בתוך העמק | Ramat David Airbase | Active: Classified | Active | |
The Shadow Hunter Squadron | טייסת ציידי הצללים | Ramat David Airbase | Retired: MD 500 Defender, Bell AH-1 Cobra Active: Classified | Active | |
The Black Snake Squadron | טייסת הנחש השחור | Palmachim Airbase | Active: Elbit Hermes 450 | Active | |
The Fire Birds Squadron | טייסת ציפורי האש | Palmachim Airbase | Retired: Elbit Hermes 450 Active: Elbit Hermes 900 | Active | |
The 1st UAV Squadron | טייסת המל"טים הראשונה | Hatzor Airbase | Retired: Ryan Firebee I, BQM-74 Chukar, Ryan Firebee II, IAI Scout, IAI Searcher I, IAI Searcher II Active: IAI Heron | Active | |
The White Eagle Squadron | טייסת הנשר הלבן | Tel Nof Airbase | Active: IAI Eitan | Active [2] | |
Unit | Name | Original name | Stationed | Aircraft | Status |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
102 Squadron Flight Training School | The Flying Tiger Squadron (M-346 only) | טייסת הנמר המעופף | Hatzerim Airbase | Retired: Fouga Magister, Douglas A-4 Skyhawk, Bell 212, Bell AH-1 Cobra Active: Grob G-120 , Beechcraft T-6 Texan II , Beechcraft King Air , Bell 206 , Alenia Aermacchi M-346 Master | Active |
115 Squadron Aggressor Emulation | The Flying Dragon Squadron | טייסת הדרקון המעופף | Ovda Airport | Retired: de Havilland Mosquito, Gloster Meteor, Douglas A-4 Skyhawk, Bell AH-1 Cobra, General Dynamics F-16A/C Active: General Dynamics F-16D | Active |
5601 Squadron Flight Test Center | Flight Test Center | מרכז ניסויי טיסה | Tel Nof Airbase | Retired: IAI Kfir, Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-23, McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II, Mikoyan MiG-29 Active: McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle , McDonnell Douglas F-15I , General Dynamics F-16C/D , General Dynamics F-16I , Lockheed Martin F-35I | Active |
The Israeli Air Force operates as the aerial and space warfare branch of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). It was founded on May 28, 1948, shortly after the Israeli Declaration of Independence. As of April 2022, Aluf Tomer Bar has been serving as the Air Force commander.
The Israel Aircraft Industries Kfir is an Israeli all-weather multirole combat aircraft based on the French Dassault Mirage 5, with Israeli avionics and an Israeli-built version of the General Electric J79 turbojet engine.
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.
David Elkana Ivry is a Major General (retired) in the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF). As commander of the Israeli Air Force (IAF) he played a key role in Operation Opera, the destruction of the Iraqi nuclear reactor located 990 miles from Israel, in 1981. In 1999, Ivry was appointed first director of the Israeli National Security Council. From 2003 to 2021, he served as the Vice President of Boeing International and president of Boeing Israel. Ivry was the Israeli Ambassador to the United States from 2000 to 2002.
Hatzor Airbase, also titled Kanaf 4 is an Israeli Air Force (IAF) base, located in central Israel near kibbutz Hatzor after which it is named. However, there have been no fighter jets stationed there since 2021, only patrol aircraft, UAVs and defense missiles.
Ramat David Airbase is an Israeli Air Force (IAF) base located 20 km southeast of Haifa in the Northern District of Israel, close to kibbutz Ramat David in the Jezreel Valley. It is the northernmost IAF base in Israel with fighter jets, UAVs and helicopters based on it.
Tel Nof Airbase, also known as Air Force Base 8, is the oldest and main base of the Israeli Air Force (IAF) located 5 km south of Rehovot, Israel. Tel Nof houses two strike fighter, two helicopter and a UAV squadron. Also located on the base are the Flight Test Center and several special units of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), among others Unit 669 and the Paratroopers Brigade training center and its headquarters.
Nevatim Airbase, also Air Force Base 28, is an Israeli Air Force (IAF) base, located 15 km east-southeast of Beersheba, near moshav Nevatim in the Negev desert. It is one of the largest in Israel and has three runways of different lengths. Stealth fighter jets, transport aircraft, tanker aircraft and machines for electronic reconnaissance/surveillance, as well as the so-called Israeli Air Force One, are stationed there.
Hatzerim Airbase is an Israeli Air Force (IAF) base on the northern edge of the Negev desert in the Southern District of Israel, 6 km west of Beersheba, near kibbutz Hatzerim. Apart from operational fighter jets, it houses the IAF Flight Academy, the IAF Aerobatic Team and the IAF Museum.
The 105 Squadron of the Israeli Air Force, also known as The Scorpion, operates F-16Ds from Ramat David Airbase.
Ramon Airbase is an Israeli Air Force (IAF) base in the Negev desert, 50 km south of Beersheba and 20 km northwest of the town Mitzpe Ramon. The base and the town got their names from the huge "erosion crater" Makhtesh Ramon south of it. The base is also titled Kanaf 25, it was formerly known as Matred.
Palmachim Airbase is an Israeli Air Force (IAF) base and spaceport, which the IAF and the Israel Space Agency (ISA) operate jointly. It is located west of the city of Yavne on the Mediterranean coast, 12 km south of the Gush Dan metropolitan area with Tel Aviv, named after the Kibbutz Palmachim north of it. Palmachim is a vital base in Israel's war against Hamas in Gaza. Iran simulated an attack on the base in February 2024.
The 118 Squadron is an active helicopter squadron of the Israeli Air Force and is part of the Participation & Helicopter Group, based at Tel Nof Airbase.Established on October 1970 and nicknamed the "Night Birds", also known as the "Night Riders" and the "Nocturnal Birds of Pray", the squadron is operating the Sikorsky CH-53-2025 Yas'ur.
The 135 Squadron of the Israeli Air Force, also known as the Air Kings Squadron.
115 Squadron, also known as the Flying Dragon or Red Squadron, is the Israeli Air Force's aggressor squadron. Based at Ovda, it is the sole IAF squadron to operate fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters and ground-based assets.
210 "White Eagle" Squadron of the Israeli Air Force is an IAI Eitan squadron based at Tel Nof Airbase.
147 Squadron, often referred to as the Flying Ibex or Goring Ram squadron, is a former unit of the Israeli Air Force. Fielding IAF Flight Academy aircraft, it flew the Boeing-Stearman Kaydet during the 1956 Suez Crisis and the Fouga Magister during the 1967 Six-Day War, in the course of which it suffered six fatalities. Between 1978 and 1986 it flew the A-4 Skyhawk.
149 Squadron, often referred to as the Smashing or Shattering Parrot squadron is a former unit of the Israeli Air Force. Active from 1976 to 1991, the squadron flew the A-4 Skyhawk and IAI Kfir.
On 26 July 2010, an Israeli Air Force Sikorsky CH-53 Yas'ur helicopter crashed during a training flight in the Carpathian Mountains, near the city of Brașov in Romania. The accident took place during a joint Romanian-Israeli aviation military exercise code-named "Blue Sky 2010".
Aluf Amikam Norkin is an Israeli general, who served as commander of the Israeli Air Force (IAF) from 2017 to 2022. Before his selection to succeed Amir Eshel as commander of the IAF, Norkin served as head of the IDF Planning Directorate.