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115 Squadron (Israel)
115 Squadron, also known as the Flying Dragon or Red Squadron, is the Israeli Air Force's aggressor squadron. Based at Ovda, it is the sole IAF squadron to operate fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters and ground-based assets. History Formation The squadron was established on July 8, 1954, as a semi-autonomous unit of 109 Squadron, specializing in photo-reconnaissance flights. Commanded by Captain Azriel Ronen, the squadron initially operated 4 de Havilland Mosquito PR.16s out of Hatzor Airbase. These were soon augmented by three Mosquito NF.30s converted to reconnaissance configuration. In June 1956, 115 became a fully independent squadron. Commanded by Major Eli Eron, the new unit was based at Tel Nof. It was soon bolstered by three additional PR.16s and three Gloster Meteor T.7s. As Middle East tensions rose in the mid-1950s, 115 squadron operations were stepped up. It carried out reconnaissance missions throughout the region, flying as far as Iraq and Libya. Intelligence gathe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ovda Airbase
Ovda Airbase (, English: fact) 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 (2025) no operational fighter jets or helicopters stationed there and a so-called "Aggressor Squadron" for pilot training was based there until May 2025. The international military aviation exercise Blue Flag takes place there every two years. History In March 1949 – 8 km northwest to the current base – the temporary Abraham Airfield (Sde Avraham, ) was set up during ''Operation Uvda'' to secure the southern Negev against Jordan shortly before the end of the First Arab–Israeli War. Ouvda-mars-1949 english.png, Map of Operation Uvda in 1949 with a temporary airfield in the southern Negev desert Sde Avraham.jpg, Piper PA-11 ''Cub Special'' planes on temporary Abraham Airfield (Sde Avra ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ashdod
Ashdod (, ; , , or ; Philistine language, Philistine: , romanized: *''ʾašdūd'') is the List of Israeli cities, sixth-largest city in Israel. Located in the country's Southern District (Israel), Southern District, it lies on the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean Israeli coastal plain, coast south of Tel Aviv and north of Ashkelon. Port of Ashdod, Ashdod's port is the largest in Israel, handling 60% of the country's imported goods. Modern Ashdod was established in 1956 on the sand hills 6 kilometers northwest of the Ashdod (ancient city), ancient city of Ashdod, known in modern times by its Arabic name Isdud. Isdud had been depopulated during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, having had a history spanning approximately 3,700 years. In ancient times, ancient Ashdod developed as an active maritime trade center, with its ports identified at Ashdod-Yam and Tel Mor. In History of ancient Israel and Judah, biblical times, it was one of the five principal cities of the Philistines. Ashdod ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Beaufort Castle, Lebanon
Beaufort or Belfort Castle, known locally as Qal'at al-Shaqif () or Shaqif Arnun, is a Crusader fortress in Nabatieh Governorate, Southern Lebanon, about to the south-south-east of the village of Arnoun. There was a fortification on the site before it was captured by Fulk, King of Jerusalem, in 1139 and construction of the Crusader castle probably began soon after. Saladin captured Beaufort in 1190, but 60 years later Crusaders re-took it. In 1268 Sultan Baibars finally captured the castle for the Islamic forces. Beaufort provides one of the few cases in which a medieval castle proved of military value and utility in modern warfare as well, as its late 20th-century history, especially during the 1982 Lebanon War. Name The castle was named ''bel fort'' or ''beau fort'' ( French for "beautiful fortress") by the Crusaders who occupied the castle in the 12th century. Its Arabic name ''Qala'at al-Shaqif'' means "Castle of the High Rock" (''shqif'' is the Aramaic word for "high ro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lebanon
Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west; Cyprus lies a short distance from the coastline. Lebanon has a population of more than five million and an area of . Beirut is the country's capital and largest city. Human habitation in Lebanon dates to 5000 BC. From 3200 to 539 BC, it was part of Phoenicia, a maritime civilization that spanned the Mediterranean Basin. In 64 BC, the region became part of the Roman Empire and the subsequent Byzantine Empire. After the seventh century, it Muslim conquest of the Levant, came under the rule of different Islamic caliphates, including the Rashidun Caliphate, Rashidun, Umayyad Caliphate, Umayyad and Abbasid Caliphate, Abbasid. The 11th century saw the establishment of Christian Crusader states, which fell ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Operation Peace For Galilee
The 1982 Lebanon War, also called the Second Israeli invasion of Lebanon, began on 6 June 1982, when Israel invaded southern Lebanon. The invasion followed a series of attacks and counter-attacks between the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) operating in southern Lebanon and the Israeli military, which had caused civilian casualties on both sides of the border. The Israeli military operation, codenamed Operation Peace for Galilee, was launched after gunmen from the Abu Nidal Organization attempted to assassinate Shlomo Argov, Israel's ambassador to the United Kingdom. Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin blamed the PLO, using the incident as a ''casus belli''. It was the second invasion of Lebanon by Israel, following the 1978 South Lebanon conflict. The Israelis sought to end Palestinian attacks from Lebanon, destroy the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) in the country, and install a pro-Israel Maronite Christian government. Israeli forces attacked and overran ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Golan Heights
The Golan Heights, or simply the Golan, is a basaltic plateau at the southwest corner of Syria. It is bordered by the Yarmouk River in the south, the Sea of Galilee and Hula Valley in the west, the Anti-Lebanon mountains with Mount Hermon in the north and Ruqqad, Wadi Raqqad in the east. It hosts vital water sources that feed the Hasbani River and the Jordan River. Two thirds of the area was Israeli occupation of the Golan Heights, occupied by Israel following the 1967 Six-Day War and then Golan Heights Law, effectively annexed in 1981 – an action unrecognized by the international community, which continues to consider it Israeli occupation, Israeli-occupied Syrian territory. In 2024 Israeli invasion of Syria, 2024, Israel occupied the remaining one third of the area. The earliest evidence of human habitation on the Golan dates to the Upper Paleolithic period. It was home to the biblical Geshur, and was later incorporated into Aram-Damascus,Michael Avi-Yonah (1979). ''The Hol ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
SEAD
Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses (SEAD ), also known in the United States as "Wild Weasel" and (initially) "Iron Hand" operations, are military actions to suppress enemy surface-based air defenses, including surface-to-air missiles (SAMs), anti-aircraft artillery (AAA), and related systems such as early-warning radar and command, control and communication functions. Suppression can be accomplished by physically destroying the systems or by disrupting and deceiving them through electronic warfare. In modern warfare, SEAD missions can constitute up to 30% of sorties launched in the first week of combat and continue at a reduced rate through the rest of a campaign.Tucker, Spencer C. (Editor), ''The Encyclopedia of Middle East Wars: The United States in the Persian Gulf, Afghanistan, and Iraq Conflicts'', ABC-CLIO, 2010, pp. 61–62. One-quarter of American combat sorties in recent conflicts have been SEAD missions. They are generally associated with aircraft, but may be perform ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Close Air Support
Close air support (CAS) is defined as aerial warfare actions—often air-to-ground actions such as strafes or airstrikes—by military aircraft against hostile targets in close proximity to friendly forces. A form of fire support, CAS requires detailed integration of each air mission with fire and movement of all forces involved. CAS may be conducted using aerial bombs, glide bombs, missiles, rockets, autocannons, machine guns, and even directed-energy weapons such as lasers.''Close Air Support''. United States Department of Defense, 2014. The requirement for detailed integration because of proximity, fires or movement is the determining factor. CAS may need to be conducted during shaping operations with special forces if the mission requires detailed integration with the fire and movement of those forces. A closely related subset of air interdiction, battlefield air interdiction, denotes interdiction against units with near-term effects on friendly units, but which does not ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Suez Canal
The Suez Canal (; , ') is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, Indo-Mediterranean, connecting the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea through the Isthmus of Suez and dividing Africa and Asia (and by extension, the Sinai Peninsula from the rest of Egypt). The canal is a key trade route between Europe and Asia. In 1858, French diplomat Ferdinand de Lesseps formed the Suez Canal Company, Compagnie de Suez for the express purpose of building the canal. Construction of the canal lasted from 1859 to 1869. The canal officially opened on 17 November 1869. It offers vessels a direct route between the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlantic, North Atlantic and northern Indian Ocean, Indian oceans via the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea, avoiding the South Atlantic and southern Indian oceans and reducing the journey distance from the Arabian Sea to London by approximately , to 10 days at or 8 days at . The canal extends from the northern terminus of Port Said to the southern terminus of Port ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shadwan
Shadwan () is a barren rocky island 30 miles southwest of the Egyptian city of Sharm el-Sheikh on the Sinai Peninsula and 20 miles northeast of El Gouna. It is the largest of a group of islands in the mouth of the Gulf of Suez in the northern Red Sea and measures in length, and between wide. It was formerly also called Shaker Island and features a lighthouse. The island is famous as a touristic site for underwater diving and fishing. Earthquake On 31 March 1969 the island was the site of an earthquake measuring 6.6 on the surface-wave magnitude scale. The earthquake caused some damage including numerous rock falls. On 9 April 1996 a station of the Hurghada Seismological Network began operating on the island with the aim of gaining information on the seismotectonics of the southern Gulf of Suez region. The station is operated by solar batteries and the seismic data is transmitted by telemetry to the Hurghada Seismological Center in Hurghada. History During the War ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Operation Rhodes
Operation Rhodes () was an Israeli heliborne raid against the Egyptian island of Shadwan on 22 January 1970, during the War of Attrition. It was carried out by Israeli paratroopers and Shayetet 13 naval commandos, who took control of the island for over a day before leaving with 62 captured Egyptian soldiers and radar equipment. Background Egypt had launched the War of Attrition in order to weaken Israel's hold on the territories in the Sinai it had captured during the 1967 Six-Day War. While the war raged mainly along the Suez Canal, Israel hoped to secure a ceasefire by showing Cairo that it could strike anywhere in Egypt and by presenting the Egyptian leadership with the prospect of an all out conflict for which Egypt was likely ill-prepared. Refusing to limit the war to the canal front, in January 1970 Israel launched Operation Priha, a series of Israeli Air Force strikes against targets in the Egyptian heartland, while its ground forces were tasked with a strike at the is ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Operation Priha
The Priha (Blossom) Operations were a series of strikes undertaken by the Israeli Air Force during the War of Attrition. Taking place between January and April 1970, the operations consisted of 118 sorties against targets in the Egyptian heartland. The strikes were carried out almost exclusively by the F-4 Phantom II, operated at the time only by the 201 "The One" Squadron and the 69 "Hammers" Squadron. Although tactically successful, the operations failed to achieve their objective of pushing the Egyptian government to sue for a ceasefire. Background By the end of 1969 Israel had achieved aerial supremacy in its battle with Egyptian air defences along the Suez Canal. Israel, however, was incapable of translating its military achievements into diplomatic gains, and the war continued. To increase Egypt's cost of maintaining the war and compel it to seek a ceasefire, the Israeli government decided to take the war deeper inside Egyptian territory. These strikes were to take plac ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
