Starting today, the Israeli Air Force’s F-16C/D “Barak” fighter jets will fly along their Luftwaffe counterparts in the sky over Germany.This is the first time that Israeli warplanes have participated in training in that country.Israel-Germany history, the deployment will also come with high steps to honor those killed in the Holocaust, as well as the 11 members of the Israeli delegation killed in the Bloodbath of Munich at the 1972 Summer Olympics.
On 17 August 2020, the Israeli Air Force (IAF) aircraft participating in joint training began arriving at Nurvenich Air Force Base near Cologne in western Germany.The station houses Luftwaffengeschwader 31 of the Luftwaffe (Tactical Air Wing 31) “Boelcke”.at the controls of the Eurofighter multi-purpose fighter jet and the manoeuvres are expected to end on 28 August.
In addition to the six “Barak” fighter jets (3 of the hatzor-based 101 and 105 squadrons, known respectively as “First Fighter” and “The Scorpion”), the IAF sent two Boeing 707 “Re’em” tankers and two Gulfstream G550 special missions to Nurvenich.One of the G550 is a “Nachshon-Eitam” with a compatible Airborne Early Warning (CAEW) formula, which adds compatible phased network radars to both sides of the front fuselage, while the other is a “Nachshon-Shavit” supplied for intelligence signals (SIGINT).Both G550s are operated through 122 Squadron at Nevatim Air Force Base.All these planes are accompanied by up to 180 people.
An IAF F-16C lands in Nurvenich, with a “Nachshon-Eitam” in the background.
Last summer, the commander of the IAF, Major General Amikam Norkin, visited Germany to expand cooperation between the air forces of the two countries.The IAF accessed its Twitter account on August 7 this year to post the first major points of the event, before the Luftwaffe also showed the next fiscal year on August 13.
The first movements of IAF aircraft similar to the maneuvers took place last week, when it was noticed that several C-130H/J and KC-130 aircraft were making visits to Nurvenich Air Base, bringing troops, aircraft and materials from Israel.
When the first IAF aircraft landed in Nurvenich, the Luftwaffe’s top officer, Lieutenant General Ingo Gerhartz, led a welcome formation of two Eurofighters to greet his Israeli counterpart.”On behalf of the German Air Force, it is an honor for me to be able to welcome the Israeli Air Force entering German airspace for the first time in history.My Israeli friends, Amikam, now our Blue Wings flies from look and feel!It was heard on the radio when Gerhartz located his jet outside the wing of Norkin’s Gulfstream plane.
An IAF F-16 lands with an escort Eurofighter on top.
“Training is being organized to continue the functions of the IAF, remain in a position to face various scenarios and continue its ties and cooperation with the allied air forces,” the IAF said in a statement.press on your website. The IAF contingent will test their skills in air combat, ground-to-air combat, defeat of surface-to-air missile threats and “other fighting scenarios in enemy territory”.
An F-16D “Barak” about to land at Nurvenich Air Base.
“The IAF will participate in training for the first time as visitors from Germany.This is an opportunity to showcase our roles and be more informed about NATO’s flight and education techniques,” added IAF Squadron 105 commander, “The Scorpion, “known only through Lieutenant Colonel A’s call.The squadron leader also heads the IAF deployment team.
A MAGDAY shield worn by one of the Squad’s staff, “The Scorpion.”
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the IAF has particularly reduced the scope of its training in foreign countries and will only participate in the two weeks of German maneuvers this year, which actually involve two other workouts: Blue Wings 2020 the first week and MAGDAYS the second.While Blue Wings 2020 will be an IAF/Luftwaffe affair, the MAG (Multinational Air Group) Days are a foreign occasion that takes position 4 times a year with the participation of several NATO forces and takes place in northern Europe.
Last MAGDAY, also driven by Germany, took position in June and, in addition to the Luftwaffe Eurofighters and oil tankers A310 and A400M, referred to F-16 from the Netherlands, F/A-18 from Switzerland, F-16 and KC-135 from the United States, as well as Typhoons and Voyagers of the United Kingdom.Air combat simulations and in-flight refueling training were conducted in spaces above northern Germany and over the North Sea off the Netherlands and Denmark.
MAGDAY’s trainings, each of which usually includes two days of practice and two days of actual flight, are intended to build a multinational air organization concept that is expected to succeed in initial operational capacity until 2023, followed by full operational capacity in 2026.The objective of the MAG will have to align a multinational coalition for combined missions.In addition to NATO members, the MAG is intended to involve non-aligned partners such as Switzerland and now Israel.
An IAF KC-130H aircraft arrives in Nurvenich.
The ability to operate alongside other aircraft, in this case, the Luftwaffe Eurofighters, at a deployed site is a credit for frontline fighter pilots as they seek to hone their skills against a variety of conflicting parties and maintain general preparation.In addition to flying tactically in uncharted airspace, the IAF contingent will face various threats, whether in the air and on the ground, to assist in their air education.In particular, the busy airspace and topography of Western Europe will offer contrasts with normal educational spaces in Israel.
“This activity is very effective and exclusive because we operate in an uncharted environment and territory,” Lieutenant Colonel A said.”We will fly in a different environment than we are used to in Israel, with other flight platforms and flight rules.”The flights will be carried out according to NATO’s fighting doctrine as opposed to ours, creating a challenge for the pilot and operator of weapons systems in the cockpit.The training will simulate the war due to uncertainty and the difference with activity in Israel.
Cooperation between German and Israeli air weapons has intensified in recent years.The Luftwaffe is a long-time operator of Israeli-made unmanned aerial vehicles, operating Israel Aerospace Industries’ Heron TP in Afghanistan and Mali, while German crews exercise on the drone in Israel.In 2017 and 2019, German fighter jets participated in the large-scale Blue Flag training series in the Negev Desert in Israel.A big difference from last year’s Blue Flag was the participation of the IAF’s newest F-35I “Adir” fighter: the next-generation warplane will not be involved in the maneuvers in Germany.
On August 18, Israeli and German army aircraft will also fly in combination over the Dachau concentration camp and will also pass through the airbase near Munich, where the last scenes of the Munich bloodbath took place.
For the joint flight, an IAF Gulfstream G550 with the IAF commander, Major General Norkin and his Luftwaffe counterpart, Generalleutnant Gerhartz, will drive Israeli F-16s and a pair of Luftwaffe Eurofighters.A similar project carried out through the IAF on Auschwitz in Poland in 2003.
A concentration camp was established in Dachau in 1933, weeks after Adolf Hitler became the leader and, first of all, housed political prisoners.The site has become a prototype for all upcoming concentration camps and in its 12 years of existence, more than 200,000 other people from all over Europe were imprisoned there, as well as in their satellite camps: 41,500 of them were killed.The survivors were liberated by U.S. troops in April 1945 and the former camp now houses a memorial site.
An IAF C-130J-30 shipment on the Nurvenich track.
A former educational base for the Luftwaffe during the war, Furstenfeldbruck was the site of the bloodbath at the 1972 Summer Olympics held near Munich.Palestinian terrorists from the Black September organization killed two members of the Israeli Olympic delegation at the Olympic Village and took nine others hostage.In a chaotic attempt to lose them, nine Israeli athletes and coaches and a West German police officer were killed on the runway at the air base.
The importance of this occasion of “Memory of the Future” is reflected in the presence of many dignitaries from both countries.Guests of the official memorial rite in Dachau will come with German Defense Minister Annegret Kramp Karrenbauer, Israel’s ambassador to Germany Jeremy Issacharoff and the commanders of the IAF and the Luftwaffe.Among those who will speak in the rite will be the Deputy Commander of IAF Squadron 109, called Major Y, who is the grandson of a Holocaust survivor from the Dachau concentration camp.
“For me, it is very moving to fly in Germany as an Israeli Air Force pilot,” Major O told major O to the German newspaper, the German newspaper, the German newspaper, the German newspaper, the German newspaper, the German newspaper, the German newspaper, the German newspaper, the German newspaper, S-ddeutsche Zeitung.”It is very vital for us all who were killed [in Dachau], but it is also a message for There is a close relationship between Germany and Israel, and we are strengthening it through such exercises.
While deployment to Germany has a significant tactical price such as the foreign exercise of the year for the IAF, it also reflects the strategic ties between Germany and Israel.For a long time after the departure of the IAF aircraft, it will be remembered as a hard symbol of the intertwined history of the two countries and the shadow cast through the Holocaust.
Contact the author: [email protected]
Subscribe to our newsletter
Technology and design in your inbox.
© [deleted] (new date (). GetFullYear ()) Acton Media Inc.All rights reserved.
We participate in the Amazon Services LLC Partner Program, an associated advertising program designed to provide us with a way to earn payment by linking to Amazon.com and partner sites.