Unit 555, also known as the Sky Crows, is the airborne electronic warfare unit 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 ...

. It was established in 1969 at the

Lod Airbase Lod Airbase, also Air Force Base 27, was an Israeli Air Force (IAF) airbase that was part of the Ben Gurion International Airport, located approximately north of Lod; east-southeast of Tel Aviv. From 1938 to 1948 it was known as RAF Lydda whil ...

. Currently, it is headquartered at the

Tel Nof Airbase Tel Nof Airbase (, English: Lookout hill) , also known as Air Force Base 8, is the oldest and main base of the Israeli Air Force (IAF) located 5 km south of Rehovot, Israel. Tel Nof houses two strike fighter, two transport helicopter and a ...

. It is one of the most classified units in the

History

The unit was established in 1969 during the

War of Attrition The War of Attrition (; ) involved fighting between Israel and Egypt, Jordan, the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) and their allies from 1967 to 1970. Following the 1967 Six-Day War, no serious diplomatic efforts were made to resolve t ...

as a counter to the strengthening of

Egyptian army The Egyptian Army (), officially the Egyptian Ground Forces (), is the land warfare branch (and largest service branch) of the Egyptian Armed Forces. Until the declaration of the Republic and the abolishment of the monarchy on 18 June 1953, it w ...

air defense systems along the

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 ...

. The unit was a combined force operating both aerial and ground assets. On July 8, 1971, a

Sikorsky CH-53 Sea Stallion The CH-53 Sea Stallion (Sikorsky S-65) is a family of American heavy-lift transport helicopters designed and built by the American manufacturer Sikorsky Aircraft. The Sea Stallion was originally developed in response to a request from the Unite ...

modified for electronic warfare crashed in the Mediterranean Sea, near El Arish. All ten crew members including six members of the unit were killed in the incident. On September 17, 1971, a

Boeing 377 Stratocruiser The Boeing 377 Stratocruiser was a large long-range airliner developed from the C-97 Stratofreighter military transport, itself a derivative of the B-29 Superfortress. The Stratocruiser's first flight was on July 8, 1947. Design features inclu ...

electronic warfare plane was shot down east of the

by two Egyptian

SA-2 The S-75 (Russian: С-75; NATO reporting name SA-2 Guideline) is a Soviet-designed, high-altitude air defence system. It is built around a surface-to-air missile with command guidance. Following its first deployment in 1957 it became one of the ...

surface-to-air missiles A surface-to-air missile (SAM), also known as a ground-to-air missile (GTAM) or surface-to-air guided weapon (SAGW), is a missile designed to be launched from the ground or the sea to destroy aircraft or other missiles. It is one type of anti-a ...

. Seven crew members including two unit personnel perished . In 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 ...

, the unit also operated modified versions of the

Douglas DC-3 The Douglas DC-3 is a propeller-driven airliner manufactured by the Douglas Aircraft Company, which had a lasting effect on the airline industry in the 1930s to 1940s and World War II. It was developed as a larger, improved 14-bed sleeper ...

with specialized electronic warfare and reconnaissance equipment. During the war, a

modified for electronic warfare was shot down killing seven crew members including four unit personnel. On April 19, 1974, two

electronic warfare helicopters collided while landing at

Rosh Pina Airport Rosh Pina Airport (, ) , sometimes called Mahanayim Airport due to its proximity to Mahanayim, is an Israeli airport located in Rosh Pinna, near the Safed-Hatzor-Rosh Pina Industrial Park. The airport is located 16 km from Safed, 29 km ...

. Ten crew members including five unit personnel perished in the incident. The unit operated in the

First Lebanon War 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 ...

under the command of Lt.Col Rami Luz. The unit is known to have utilized the planes of the Naschon Squadron having specially modified them for electronic warfare missions. The unit was initially stationed at the

but was moved to

after the closure of

. The unit currently serves as an air support team and operates a wide variety of aircraft from various

squadrons modifying them for electronic warfare. Commonly used aircraft include the

Lockheed C-130 Hercules The Lockheed C-130 Hercules is an American four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft designed and built by Lockheed Corporation, Lockheed (now Lockheed Martin). Capable of using unprepared runways for takeoffs and landings, the C-130 w ...

and the

s. This unit is one of the most classified units with very little information being released about the unit's operations.

Name and motto

The unit is nicknamed as the "sky crows" as the nickname was firstly used by the allied forces in

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. The motto of the unit is "The most important is hidden from view" and was taken from "

The Little Prince ''The Little Prince'' (, ) is a novella written and illustrated by French writer and aviator Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. It was first published in English and French in the United States by Reynal & Hitchcock in April 1943 and was published po ...

Equipment

The unit's equipment is highly classified but is known to have been developed by the

Defense industry of Israel The defense industry of Israel is a strategically important sector and a large employer, as well as a major supplier of the Israel Defense Forces. The country is a large exporter of military equipment, accounting for 2.1% of the world total in 2 ...

Roles

The unit's main mission is to operate various airborne electronic warfare systems to help Israeli aircraft evade oppositional air defense systems as well as to destroy oppositional air defense systems in order to achieve air superiority.

Sources and references

{{Reflist

External links

* Shlomo Aloni, "555 ינשופי שמיים", Air Force Association, 2013 * Meir Halevi Gover
אירועים-מכוננים בחיל-האוויר 1948-2021
p. 344, 2022, on the Academia.edu * https://www.iaf.org.il/8411-44793-he/IAF.aspx * https://www.iaf.org.il/7186-41611-he/IAF.aspx * https://www.iaf.org.il/4343-28857-he/IAF.aspx * https://www.iaf.org.il/1740-26221-he/IAF.aspx * https://www.iaf.org.il/4446-46439-he/IAF.aspx * https://www.iaf.org.il/4422-45198-he/IAF.aspx
Sky Crows, טייסת ל"א בבסיס תל נוף
Israeli Air Force units Special forces of Israel Military units and formations established in 1969 Electronic warfare