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 ...

Amikam Norkin (; born December 20, 1966) is a retired Israeli general, who served as 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 ...

(IAF) from 2017 to 2022. Before his selection to succeed

Amir Eshel Amir Eshel (; born 1959) is a former Israeli general who served as commander of the Israeli Air Force and served as Director General of the Israeli Ministry of Defense until January 2, 2022. Biography Amir Eshel was born in Jaffa. His father ...

as commander of the IAF, Norkin served as head of the IDF

Planning Directorate The Planning Directorate (Hebrew: אגף התכנון, Acronym: AGAT) was the central body in the Israel Defense Forces' Israeli General Staff, General Staff whose focus was on strategic and tactical planning, the building of military forces, and ...

Biography

Norkin was born in Beit She'arim to

olim ''Aliyah'' (, ; ''ʿălīyyā'', ) is the immigration of Jews from the diaspora to, historically, the geographical Land of Israel or the Palestine region, which is today chiefly represented by the State of Israel. Traditionally described ...

of Romanian-Jewish origin. He was drafted in the IDF Armour Corps in 1984, and graduated from the IAF Flight Academy as a fighter pilot in July 1987. In 1988, he joined the "Knights of the Twin Tail" Squadron and became the youngest

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

pilot in the world. In the start of the '90s, he flew the ''Kurnass'' 2000 variant of the

F-4 Phantom II The McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II is an American tandem two-seat, twin-engine, all-weather, long-range supersonic jet interceptor and fighter-bomber that was developed by McDonnell Aircraft for the United States Navy.Swanborough and Bower ...

out of

Hatzerim Hatzerim (, ''lit.'' Farmyards) is a kibbutz located 8 kilometers west of Beersheba in the Negev desert in Israel. It is named after the Bible (Deuteronomy 2:23), mentioning a site nearby: "the Avvites who lived in farmyards as far as Gaza". It b ...

, and participated in bombing sorties during Operation Accountability. Later, Norkin was appointed first deputy squadron commander of the "Golden Eagle" Squadron and participated in Operation Grapes of Wrath. He next headed the IAF Operations Department. Between 1999 and 2002 Norkin was commander of the "Knights of the Twin Tail" Squadron. In 2003 he was chosen to integrate the IAF's new F-16I aircraft as commander of the "Negev" Squadron. From 2009 to 2012, Norkin, now a brigadier general, commanded Tel Nof AFB, and was appointed head of the IAF Training & Doctrine Division in 2012. In August 2014, he was appointed IAF Chief of Air Staff until June 2015, when he was promoted to the rank of major general and was appointed head of the IDF Planning Directorate. On August 10, 2017, Norkin was appointed Commander of the IAF, replacing Major General

. Norkin completed his term as commander of the IAF on April 4, 2022. He was succeeded by Tomer Bar.

Awards and decorations

*: **

Second Lebanon War ** South Lebanon Security Zone ** Protective Edge Operation ribbon

Operation Protective Edge *: ** GER Bundesverdienstkreuz 4 GrVK

Commander of the

Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany The Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (, or , BVO) is the highest state decoration, federal decoration of the Federal Republic of Germany. It may be awarded for any field of endeavor. It was created by the first List of president ...

(2021) *: ** US_Legion_of_Merit_Commander_ribbon

Commander of the

Legion of Merit The Legion of Merit (LOM) is a Awards and decorations of the United States military, military award of the United States Armed Forces that is given for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievemen ...

(2019)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Norkin, Amikam 1966 births Living people Israeli Air Force generals Israeli military aviators Israeli Jews University of Haifa alumni Israeli people of Romanian-Jewish descent Commanders Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Commanders of the Legion of Merit Foreign recipients of the Legion of Merit Members of the Jewish Institute for National Security of America