Aluf ( 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. In addition to the ''aluf'' rank, fo ...

Amos Lapidot (‎; 1934 – November 20, 2019) was an Israeli fighter pilot who served as the tenth Commander of the

Israeli Air Force The Israeli Air Force (IAF; , commonly known as , ''Kheil HaAvir'', "Air Corps") 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 Indep ...

, a position he held from 1982 to 1987. From 1998 to 2001 he was the President of

Technion – Israel Institute of Technology The Technion – Israel Institute of Technology is a public university, public research university located in Haifa, Israel. Established in 1912 by Jews under the dominion of the Ottoman Empire, the Technion is the oldest university in the coun ...

Biography

Lapidot was born in

Kfar Saba Kfar Saba ( ), officially Kfar Sava , is a List of Israeli cities, city in the Sharon plain, Sharon region, of the Central District (Israel), Central District of State of Israel, Israel. In 2019 it had a population of 110,456, making it the 16th-l ...

, Israel, in 1934, and grew up in Havatzelet HaSharon. He initially enlisted in the IDF Artillery Corps, before eventually joining the nascent

, and completed the IAF pilots' course in 1954. He flew the

P-51 Mustang The North American Aviation P-51 Mustang is an American long-range, single-seat fighter aircraft, fighter and fighter-bomber used during World War II and the Korean War, among other conflicts. The Mustang was designed in 1940 by a team headed ...

Gloster Meteor The Gloster Meteor was the first British jet fighter and the Allies' only jet aircraft to engage in combat operations during the Second World War. The Meteor's development was heavily reliant on its ground-breaking turbojet engines, pioneere ...

, and Dassault Ouragan. Lapidot held a BA in mathematics from

Tel Aviv University Tel Aviv University (TAU) is a Public university, public research university in Tel Aviv, Israel. With over 30,000 students, it is the largest university in the country. Located in northwest Tel Aviv, the university is the center of teaching and ...

, and a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...

in financial systems engineering from

Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...

. During the

Suez Crisis The Suez Crisis, also known as the Second Arab–Israeli War, the Tripartite Aggression in the Arab world and the Sinai War in Israel, was a British–French–Israeli invasion of Egypt in 1956. Israel invaded on 29 October, having done so w ...

, he flew the Ouragan and the

Dassault Mystère The Dassault MD.452 Mystère is a 1950s French fighter-bomber. It was a straightforward development of the successful Dassault Ouragan Development After the success of the Ouragan, Dassault was working on a more advanced machine which woul ...

. In 1961 he switched to the Dassault Mirage III and became the deputy commander of 101 Squadron, the IAF's first Mirage squadron. In 1962, he was assigned command of 113 Squadron, flying Ouragans, and in 1965 became commander of 101 Squadron, which he was to lead during the

Six-Day War The Six-Day War, also known as the June War, 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, Syria, and Jordan from 5 to 10June ...

. In 1970, he was put in charge of the weapons department in the Israeli Air Force and in 1973 became commander of Hatzor Airbase, which he led during the

Yom Kippur War The Yom Kippur War, also known as the Ramadan War, the October War, the 1973 Arab–Israeli War, or the Fourth Arab–Israeli War, was fought from 6 to 25 October 1973 between Israel and a coalition of Arab world, Arab states led by Egypt and S ...

. In 1975, Lapidot was put in charge of the Air Intelligence Directorate and in 1981 he became the director of the

IAI Lavi The IAI Lavi (, "lion") is a single-engined fourth-generation jet fighter, fourth-generation multirole jet fighter developed in Israel, by Israel Aircraft Industries (IAI), during the 1980s. The decision to develop the Lavi was controversial, bot ...

project. A year later, in 1982, he was promoted to the rank of

and became the Commander of the Israeli Air Force. During his tenure, the Israeli Air Force received more

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

fighter jets and upgraded its missile inventory with the Israeli AGM-142 Have Nap. It was under his aegis that the IAF carried out Operation Wooden Leg, a raid on the headquarters of the

Palestine Liberation Organization The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO; ) is a Palestinian nationalism, Palestinian nationalist coalition that is internationally recognized as the official representative of the Palestinians, Palestinian people in both the occupied Pale ...

(PLO) at Hammam al-Shatt,

Tunisia Tunisia, officially the Republic of Tunisia, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered by Algeria to the west and southwest, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Tunisia also shares m ...

(1,500 miles away from

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

). In 1987, Lapidot completed his term as Commander of the Israeli Air Force and handed command over to

Avihu Ben-Nun Avihu Ben-Nun (; born 24 December 1939) is a retired Israeli general who was the 11th commander of the Israeli Air Force between 1987 and 1992. Biography Ben-Nun enlisted in the Israeli Air Force in 1957 and became a fighter pilot. In 1963 he beg ...

. In 1988, Lapidot created a

think-tank A think tank, or public policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topics such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, technology, and culture. Most think tanks are non-governme ...

organization. From 1998 to 2001 he was the President of

, following Zehev Tadmor and followed by Yitzhak Apeloig. In 2007, he headed a public committee appointed by Transport Minister

Shaul Mofaz Shaul Mofaz (; 4 November 1948) is a retired Israeli military officer and politician. He joined the Israel Defense Forces in 1966 and served in the Paratroopers Brigade. He fought in the Six-Day War, Yom Kippur War, 1982 Lebanon War, and Operati ...

to examine aviation safety. He resigned in May 2008 after its recommendations were not implemented. He was the chair of the academic committee of the Fisher Institute for Air and Space Strategic Studies.

Gallery

Amos Lapidot (997009932943305171).jpg, Amos Lapidot in his younger years Amos Lapidot, 1956 (122673ב1).jpg, Amos Lapidot 1956 as pilot of a Dassault Ouragan at Hatzor Airbase Amos Lapidot, 1956 (122675ב1).jpg, Amos Lapidot (right) 1956 after getting out of his Dassault Ouragan jet at Hatzor Airbase Meitar Collection (997009327155705171.jpg, Amos Lapidot as commander of 101 Squadron "First Fighter" in 1967, the year of the

Amos Lapidot (A424725דצ).jpg, Amos Lapidot (right) beside

Yitzhak Rabin Yitzhak Rabin (; , ; 1 March 1922 – 4 November 1995) was an Israeli politician, statesman and general. He was the prime minister of Israel, serving two terms in office, 1974–1977, and from 1992 until Assassination of Yitzhak Rabin, his ass ...

1984 at Tel Nof Airbase עמוס_לפידות.jpg, Amos Lapidot in 2012

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lapidot, Amos 1934 births 2019 deaths Israeli Jews Israeli Air Force generals Technion – Israel Institute of Technology presidents Tel Aviv University alumni Stanford University alumni People from Kfar Saba