Aluf ''Aluf'' ( he, אלוף, lit=champion or "First\leader of a group" in Biblical Hebrew; ) is a senior military rank in the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) for officers who in other countries would have the rank of general, air marshal, or admiral. ...

Tomer Bar ( he, תומר בר; born 1969) is an Israeli general and current commander of the

Israeli Air Force The Israeli Air Force (IAF; he, זְרוֹעַ הָאֲוִיר וְהֶחָלָל, Zroa HaAvir VeHahalal, tl, "Air and Space Arm", commonly known as , ''Kheil HaAvir'', "Air Corps") operates as the aerial warfare branch of the Israel Defense ...

. Before his selection to succeed

Amikam Norkin Aluf Amikam Norkin ( he, עמיקם נורקין; born December 20, 1966) is an Israeli general, who served as commander of the Israeli Air Force from 2017 to 2022. Before his selection to succeed Amir Eshel as commander of the IAF, Norkin served ...

as commander of the IAF, Bar served as head of the IDF Force Design Directorate, a rejiggered version of what was once the

Planning Directorate The Planning Directorate was the central body in the Israel Defense Forces' General Staff whose focus was on the strategic and tactical planning, the building of military forces, and military organization of the armed forces. It also served as a ...

Biography

Bar was born in 1969, one of six children of Erela and Natan Bar. He enlisted in the

IDF IDF or idf may refer to: Defence forces * Irish Defence Forces * Israel Defense Forces *Iceland Defense Force, of the US Armed Forces, 1951-2006 * Indian Defence Force, a part-time force, 1917 Organizations * Israeli Diving Federation * Interac ...

in 1987 and completed pilot course with honors in 1989. He served as a

F-16 The General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon is a single-engine Multirole combat aircraft, multirole fighter aircraft originally developed by General Dynamics for the United States Air Force (USAF). Designed as an air superiority day fighter, it ...

fighter pilot with the

110 110 may refer to: *110 (number), natural number *AD 110, a year *110 BC, a year *110 film, a cartridge-based film format used in still photography *110 (MBTA bus), Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority bus route *110 (song), 2019 song by Capi ...

116 116 (''one hundred and sixteen'') may refer to: *116 (number) *AD 116 * 116 BC * 116 (Devon and Cornwall) Engineer Regiment, Royal Engineers, a military unit * 116 (MBTA bus) * 116 (New Jersey bus) * 116 (hip hop group), a Christian hip hop collect ...

and

140 140 may refer to: * 140 (number), an integer * AD 140, a year of the Julian calendar * 140 BC, a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar * ''140'' (video game), a 2013 platform game * Tin King stop Tin King () is an at-grade MTR Light Rail stop ...

Squadrons. After a period of study in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, he was assigned as an

F-15 The McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle is an American twin-engine, all-weather tactical fighter aircraft designed by McDonnell Douglas (now part of Boeing). Following reviews of proposals, the United States Air Force selected McDonnell Douglas's ...

pilot with the 133 Squadron in 1998. From 1999 to 2002, he served as head of the Operations Branch at the Air Force Headquarters. In 2005, Bar was appointed commander of the 69 Squadron, which was equipped with the

F-15I The McDonnell Douglas (now Boeing) F-15E Strike Eagle is an American all-weather multirole strike fighter derived from the McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle. The F-15E was designed in the 1980s for long-range, high-speed interdiction without relyi ...

, and commanded the squadron during the

Second Lebanon War The 2006 Lebanon War, also called the 2006 Israel–Hezbollah War and known in Lebanon as the July War ( ar, حرب تموز, ''Ḥarb Tammūz'') and in Israel as the Second Lebanon War ( he, מלחמת לבנון השנייה, ''Milhemet Leva ...

. During his tenure, the squadron have undertaken

Operation Orchard Operation Outside the Box ( he, מבצע מחוץ לקופסה, ''Mivtza MiHutz LaKufsa''), also known as Operation Orchard ( he, מבצע בוסתן, ''Mivtza Bustan''), was an Israeli airstrike on a suspected nuclear reactor,Operation Cast Lead Operation or Operations may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * ''Operation'' (game), a battery-operated board game that challenges dexterity * Operation (music), a term used in musical set theory * ''Operations'' (magazine), Multi-Ma ...

. In 2010, he was appointed commander of the

Israeli Air Force Flight Academy The Israeli Air Force Flight Academy trains aircrew to operate Israeli Air Force aircraft, qualifying fighter, helicopter and transport pilots as well as combat and transport navigators. The IAF flight course is considered one of the most pres ...

, and served in that position until 2012. In February 2012, he was promoted to the rank of

brigadier general Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...

and appointed commander of the

Tel Nof Airbase Tel Nof Israeli Air Force ( he, בָּסִיס חֵיל-הַאֲוִויר תֵּל נוֹף) , also known as Air Force Base 8, is one of three principal airbases of the Israeli Air Force. It is located near Rehovot, Israel. Tel Nof houses seve ...

, where he took part in the training of

UAV An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), commonly known as a drone, is an aircraft without any human pilot, crew, or passengers on board. UAVs are a component of an unmanned aircraft system (UAS), which includes adding a ground-based controller ...

operators and commanded the base during

Operation Pillar of Cloud In November 2012, the Israel Defense Forces launched Operation Pillar of Defense ( he, עַמּוּד עָנָן, ''ʿAmúd ʿAnán'', literally: "Pillar of Cloud") which was an eight-day campaign in the Hamas-governed Gaza Strip, which beg ...

. On October 17, 2017, he was appointed chief of staff of the Air Force, and served in that position until October 22, 2019, including during the

February 2018 Israel–Syria incident On 10 February 2018, an Israeli F-16I was shot down by the Syrian air defenses after conducting an air raid on Iran-backed positions inside Syrian territory. The aircraft was part of a larger Israeli aerial dispatch which Israel said was se ...

. On June 18, 2020, he was promoted to the rank of Major General, and was appointed Head of the IDF Force Design Directorate on June 21. In September 2021, he was announced as the next appointee of commander of the IAF and on April 4, 2022, Bar was appointed commander of the IAF, replacing Major General

Awards and decorations

Tomer Bar was awarded three campaign ribbons for his service during three conflicts.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bar, Tomer Israeli Air Force generals Israeli aviators Israeli Jews 1969 births Living people