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.
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 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.
Operation Opera, also known as Operation Babylon, was a surprise airstrike conducted by the Israeli Air Force on 7 June 1981, which destroyed an unfinished Iraqi nuclear reactor located 17 kilometres southeast of Baghdad, Iraq. The Israeli operation came a year after the Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force had caused minor damage to the same nuclear facility in Operation Scorch Sword, with the damage having been subsequently repaired by French technicians. Operation Opera, and related Israeli government statements following it, established the Begin Doctrine, which explicitly stated the strike was not an anomaly, but instead "a precedent for every future government in Israel". Israel's counter-proliferation preventive strike added another dimension to its existing policy of deliberate ambiguity, as it related to the nuclear weapons capability of other states in the region.
Aluf Amos Yadlin is a former general in the Israeli Air Force (IAF), Israel Defense Forces military attaché to Washington, D.C., and head of the IDF Military Intelligence Directorate (Aman).
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.
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 Wing of Zion, 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.
Ovda Airbase is an Israeli Air Force (IAF) base, located in the very south of Israel, around 40 kilometers north of Eilat, in a large plain of the southern Negev desert. It has two runways with lengths of 3,000 and 2,600 meters and a heliport. There are currently (2024) no operational fighter jets or helicopters stationed there, but the so-called "Aggressor Squadron" for pilot training. The international military aviation exercise Blue Flag takes place there every two years.
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.
Operation Mole Cricket 19 was a suppression of enemy air defenses (SEAD) campaign launched by the Israeli Air Force (IAF) against Syrian targets on June 9, 1982, at the outset of the 1982 Lebanon War. The operation was the first time in history that a Western-equipped air force successfully destroyed a Soviet-built surface-to-air missile (SAM) network. It also became one of the biggest air battles since World War II, and the biggest since the Korean War. The result was a decisive Israeli victory, leading to the colloquial name the "Bekaa Valley Turkey Shoot".
Avihu Ben-Nun was the 11th commander of the Israeli Air Force between 1987 and 1992.
The General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon has served the United States and the air arms of 25 other nations. Over 4,400 F-16s have been sold.
Amir Nachumi is a retired Israeli Air Force Brigadier General who, in the course of his career, shot down 14 enemy aircraft, making him one of Israel's top flying aces. He scored 7 aerial kills in the F-4 Phantom II during the Yom Kippur War, 7 in the F-16 Fighting Falcon in fighting over Lebanon, and participated in Operation Opera, the 1981 raid that destroyed an Iraqi nuclear reactor.
The 1973 Syrian General Staff Headquarters Raid was an aerial strike carried out by the Israeli Air Force on October 9, 1973, the fourth day of the Yom Kippur War. Following a strike by Syrian surface-to-surface missiles against settlements and installations in northern Israel, seven F-4 Phantom IIs from 119 Squadron attacked the Syrian General Staff Headquarters (GHQ) and adjacent buildings in downtown Damascus.
The History of the Israel Air Force begins in May 1948, shortly after the formation of the State of Israel. Following Israel's declaration of independence on May 14, its pre-state national institutions transformed into the agencies of a state, and on May 26, 1948, the Israeli Air Force was formed. Beginning with a small collection of light aircraft, the force soon transformed into a comprehensive fighting force. It has since participated in several wars and numerous engagements, becoming what has been described as "The mightiest air force in the Middle East".
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.
The March 2017 Israel–Syria incident took place on 17 March 2017, when Israeli Air Force struck a target in Syria. In response the Syrian Army fired several S-200 missiles at Israeli jets above Golan Heights. Israel reported that one Syrian missile had been shot down by an Arrow 2 missile, while none of its aircraft had been damaged. Israel stated it was targeting weapon shipments headed toward anti-Israeli forces, specifically Hezbollah, in Lebanon, while the Syrian Army claimed that a military site near Palmyra had been struck.
A victory marking is a symbol applied in stencil or decal to the side of a military aircraft to denote an aerial victory achieved by the aircraft's pilot or crew. The use of victory markings originated during World War I, burgeoned during World War II and frequently took the form of the roundel or national flag of the nationality of the aircraft defeated.
144 Squadron of the Israeli Air Force (IAF), also known as the Phoenix Squadron, operates Spark Nitsot UAVs out of Hatzor Airbase.
