The IAF Aerobatic Team is the

aerobatic Aerobatics is the practice of flying maneuvers involving aircraft attitudes that are not used in conventional passenger-carrying flights. The term is a portmanteau of "aerial" and "acrobatics". Aerobatics are performed in aeroplanes and glid ...

display team 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 ...

. Until summer 2010 the team flew the

IAI Tzukit The Fouga CM.170 Magister is a 1950s French two-seat jet trainer aircraft that was developed and manufactured by French aircraft manufacturer ''Établissements Fouga & Cie''. Easily recognizable by its V-tail, almost 1,000 have been built in Fr ...

, a variant of the French

Fouga Magister Fouga (also known as Air Fouga) was a French manufacturing company established by Gaston Fouga at Béziers during 1920. Originally specialising in the repair of railway rolling stock, the firm eventually became most noted for the aircraft it p ...

manufactured under license by

Israel Aerospace Industries Israel Aerospace Industries (Hebrew: התעשייה האווירית לישראל ''ha-ta'asiya ha-avirit le-yisra'el'') or IAI (תע"א) is Israel's major aerospace and aviation manufacturer, producing aerial and astronautic systems for both mi ...

. Since then the team operates four

Beechcraft T-6 Texan II The Beechcraft T-6 Texan II is a single-engine turboprop aircraft built by the Raytheon Aircraft Company (Textron Aviation since 2014). A trainer aircraft based on the Pilatus PC-9, the T-6 has replaced the United States Air Force's Cessna T ...

aircraft (#478, #484, #493, and #494). The team typically flies demonstrations at the graduation ceremony of the

IAF 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 on Israel's independence day. Based at

Hatzerim Airbase Hatzerim Israeli Air Force Base ( he, בָּסִיס חֵיל-הַאֲוִויר חֲצֵרִים, ''Basis Heil HaAvir Hatzerim'') is an air base of the Israeli Air Force in the Negev Desert on the west outskirts of Beersheba, near Kibbutz Hatze ...

, the team is staffed by IAF Flight Academy personnel and its pilots are active instructors.

Ido Nehoshtan Aluf Ido Nehoshtan, also Nehushtan ( he, עידו נחושתן; born 1957) is a retired general in the Israel Defense Forces. He replaced Eliezer Shkedi on 4 April 2008 as Air Force Commander until he himself was replaced by Amir Eshel on 10 May 2 ...

, the commander of the Israeli Air Force in 2008–2012 is a former member of the team, as is

Eitan Ben Eliyahu Aluf Eitan Ben Eliyahu (born 1944)Melman, Yossi and Javedanfar, Meir. ''The Nuclear Sphinx of Tehran.'' Basic Books, 2008. pp. 187–188. is a retired major general in the Israel Defense Forces and was the Commander of the Israeli Air Force ...

, commander of the Israeli Air Force in 1996–2000.

Tzukit era

Tzukit, a jet-powered trainer, was used in the selection and training of IAF Flight Academy cadets. It was a modified version of the French Fouga Magister, which had served the IAF in the training role since 1960. The Fouga Magister also saw limited combat against Egyptian and Jordanian forces during the 1967

Six-Day War The Six-Day War (, ; ar, النكسة, , or ) or June War, also known as the 1967 Arab–Israeli War or Third Arab–Israeli War, was fought between Israel and a coalition of Arab world, Arab states (primarily United Arab Republic, Egypt, S ...

. A number of aircraft were lost to enemy fire. The Magisters were later radically revamped by the IAI and fitted for carrying advanced motors and equipment. The first prototype of the Tzukit took to the air in September 1980, and was handed over to the IAF in May 1981 for initial testing. At the IAF's request certain modifications were carried out and included in the first serial production Tzukits, and deliveries to the IAF started June 1983. All Tzukit aircraft had been delivered to the IAF by 1986. These aerobatic aircraft were always fully armed, according to a senior Air Force officer who spoke to the ''

Jerusalem Post ''The Jerusalem Post'' is a broadsheet newspaper based in Jerusalem, founded in 1932 during the British Mandate of Palestine by Gershon Agron as ''The Palestine Post''. In 1950, it changed its name to ''The Jerusalem Post''. In 2004, the paper w ...

''.Mandel, Morris and Gartenburg, Leo. ''Israel: The Story of a Miracle'', p. 4 ( Jonathan David Publishers, 1969).

Footnotes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Iaf Aerobatic Team Israeli Air Force units Aerobatic teams