The Commander of the German Air Force, Lt. Gen. Ingo Gerhartz, visited Israel this week for the first time since the beginning of his tenure. The visit is meant to continue and strengthen the strategic cooperation between the two air forces and the two countries. During his visit, Lt. Gen. Gerhartz met with the IAF Commander and other Senior Officers, visited the Nevatim and Tel-Nof AFBs, and discussed finding issues of common interest, such as the future replacement for the "Yas'ur" helicopter.
The Commander of the German Air Force, Lt. Gen. Ingo Gerhartz, visited Israel this week as part of the effort to strengthen cooperation between the Israeli and German air forces. Lt. Gen. Gerhartz and his delegation visited the IAF Headquarters as well as the Nevatim and Tel-Nof AFBs. During his visit, Lt. Gen. Gerhartz met with IAF Commander Maj. Gen. Amikam Norkin for the first time since the beginning of his tenure.
"The two air forces have a close cooperation, which is also a part of the close relations between Germany and Israel", said Maj I', Head of the IAF's Europe & Asia International Affairs Branch. "The cooperation mainly focuses on mutual exercises, mutual learning and force build-up processes. This is one of the German Air Force Commander's first trips, and he said that this visit was especially important as a result of the fertile cooperation".
Significant Relationships The German Air Force Commander's visit focused on promoting mutual work programs between the two forces, establishing points for future cooperation and forming interpersonal relationships between the two forces' commanders. "The two air forces have cooperated many times over the years. The relations between us are close and will continue to grow stronger. The IAF Commander has said that the visit was significant for him".
Some events resulting from the two air forces' cooperation include: crew exchanges in the "Yas'ur" (CH-53) division, crew exchanges in the fighter division, mutual air defense study groups, participation in the "Blue Flag" 2017 exercise and future participation in "Blue Flag" 2019.
The German Air Force, like the IAF, is considering replacing the "Yas'ur" helicopter. The two forces' potential candidates are the CH-53K, which is based on the "Yas'ur", and the "Chinook" (CH-47). "The two countries have similar considerations for purchasing a new helicopter. This year, the Germans arrived at Israel to drill landing in dusty terrain and we are due to fly to Germany in order to practice landing in mountainous terrain", added Maj. I'.
Something to Look Forward To The two air forces' cooperation is expected to grow over the coming years: additional cooperation in the field of air defense, a yearly force establishment discussion and more.
"The air forces are different from each other – it's clear that the German Air Force puts its focus on international manners. The Germans establish multi-national capabilities for every exercise or operation, unlike the IAF, which maintains its independence", concluded Maj. I'. "In spite of the difference, there's a lot in common. The Germans' grasp of aerial activity also places an emphasis on excellence and precision, and flying together illustrates each other's' qualities".
Presentation at the STAMP (Systems-Theoretic Accident Model and Processes) workshop 2016 in Zurich, Switzerland given by Baktare Kanarit. The thesis was initiated and supervised by Dr. Daniel Hartmann.
The Israeli Air Force has frozen its evaluation of the Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey, with a senior defence source indicating that the tiltrotor is unable to perform some missions currently conducted using its Sikorsky CH-53 transport helicopters.
In January 2014, the US Department of Defense notified Congress about its intention to sell six V-22s to Israel. This followed an evaluation conducted by air force personnel, which led to the service seeking a rapid acquisition to support special operations. The proposed purchase met with opposition from elsewhere within Israel's defence ministry, however.
Other potential candidates to replace the Israeli Air Force's aged CH-53s by around 2025 include Sikorsky's new CH-53K and the Boeing CH-47 Chinook.
Some of the service's current CH-53s have amassed more than 10,000 flying hours, and it expects to continue operating updated examples until 2028.
The IAF’s Transport Helicopter Squadrons and the “First” Reconnaissance Squadron, returned from a comprehensive training exercise which was held in Greece. For two weeks, the aircrews flew in unknown areas and in changing topography and strengthened their cooperation. In addition, the Air Support and Helicopter Division Commander met with his Greek counterpart for the first time
A joint IAF and Hellenic Air Force exercise has come to an end. For two consecutive weeks, the IAF's "Yas'ur" (CH-53) and "Yanshuf" (Blackhawk) transport helicopters and "Tzofit" (Beechcraft King Air B-200) light transport aircraft trained in the skies of Greece alongside HAF Apache combat helicopters and fighter jets. "Israel is an amazing but small country", said Brig. Gen. Nir Nin-Nun, the Commander of the Air Support and Helicopter Division. "Our goal is to train our aircrews in new conditions and areas, one of which being Mount Olympus, at a height of 10,000 feet".
Testing Operational Tools and Combat Doctrines
The exercise, included complex mutual training. The aircrews faced various scenarios such as navigation sorties, PSAR (Pilot Search and Rescue) missions and unplanned circumstances arising in the air, all in English. "The exercise included cooperation between different IAF divisions and squadrons and cooperation with the Hellenic Air Force while flying in unknown territory, changing topography and tall mountains", shared Brig. Gen. N', Commander of Palmahim AFB, who was also the commander of the exercise.
"Deployment is an excellent and significant training platform which allows us to rehearse scenarios which are harder to perform in Israel", said Lt. Col. Zohar, Commander of the "Desert Birds" Squadron which led the deployment. "Long distance flights, in an unfamiliar area and in changing weather allow us to take operational tools and combat doctrines that we rehearse in Israel to a new level, test them and draw conclusions".
Even while operating non-stop and facing a rising difficulty level throughout the exercise, the aircrews did not forget the helicopter crash which occurred on July 26, 2010 in a joint IAF - Romanian Air Force training exercise. "We took off for more than 200 sorties: 16 day flights and 16 night flights, with the Romania disaster always in the background. The weather affects us but we do everything we can in regard to risk management", shared Lt. Col. Zohar. "We want to meet the highest standards there are, make the most of the missions set for ourselves while sharpening our professional discussion".
"Priceless Cooperation": First Senior Meeting
Besides the operational advantages the training exercise held, it also was of strategic-international significance. During the exercise Brig. Gen. Nin-Nun met with Brig. Gen. Christos Iliopoylos, the Hellenic Army Aviation Director. Both senior commanders entered their current positions in 2016 and this was their first meeting.
As a part of the meeting, Brig. Gen. Nir Nin-Nun toured Stefanovikio base, was acquainted with the Hellenic aircraft and squadrons. The two commanders discussed operational matters, issues in human resources and training exercises and scenarios that both forces deal with. Brig. Gen. Iliopoylos said that he understands the operational challenges that Israel deals with and appreciates its great operational experience.
"Greece is a strategic partner of the state of Israel. Cooperation in the military rank is important and fertile for both countries and allows us to train better and maintain our preparedness", said the Air Support and Helicopter Division Commander. "This exercise is part of a priceless cooperation. In the past, the Greeks traveled to Israel to train with us. I think that this cooperation is stable and has a horizon of partnership, mutual trust and friendship between two countries helping each other".
Alpha Together
This is the second time a "Tzofit" aircraft joined the exercise in Greece. "We, in practice, began this exercise where exactly where we left off last time. The abilities the ‘Tzofit' grants in an exercise is unparalleled in the Hellenic Air Force", stated Col. Amir, Commander of Sde-Dov AFB. "We cooperate with Hellenic fighter jets, and the closure of the aerial surveillance is dramatic, and strengthens the strategic perception".
The participation of the "Tzofit" in the exercise has three main goals: improvement of flight abilities in unfamiliar areas and in changing weather, strengthening the basics of surveillance while incorporating various tools and strengthening the cooperation with the Hellenic Air Force. "We must be sharp and precise", said Col. Amir. "Optimal cooperation between the ‘Tzofit' and Hellenic fighter jet will bring the ‘Alpha'. We implemented conclusions from the last exercise and thought about more elements that we would like to perform in the next exercise, such as unplanned scenarios".
The Goal: Every Sortie Takes Off
Alongside the aircrews, about 200 maintenance division personnel from various IAF bases also took off for the exercise and were responsible for making sure that all of the equipment that they might need throughout the exercise, makes it to the deployment base and for the maintenance and readiness of the aircraft. "From the side it seems quite easy, but today I understand how detail oriented you must be and that one malfunction can delay all of the activity", shared Maj. Rami, Commander of the Helicopter Branch in Palmahim AFB's Maintenance Squadron, who was the maintenance leader in the exercise. "We began to carefully prepare six months in advance and our goal was that every sortie would take off as planned, without technical malfunctions"."Yas'ur" helicopters were also deployed to the last exercise, and they did not take off for all of the planned sorties as a result of routine maintenance. "As a part of the conclusion drawing process, this time we brought another ‘Yas'ur', as to not delay the exercise in case one of the helicopters requires any maintenance".
According to Maj. Rami, the challenge of an overseas deployment is the combination of all of the technical departments which do not necessarily all belong to the same base, and in his case, three different bases. "Because many squadrons participated in the exercise, it was decided that there would be a Technical Officer from one squadron and that his deputy would be a Maintenance Officer from another. This is how we utilized the cooperation between our squadrons to the fullest, allowed correct synchronization between the different position holders who are not used to working together, and created a cooperative interaction and mutual fertilization", he said. "Preparing technical equipment a month and a half before a deployment is very challenging, and the cooperation between the units was amazing".
Looking to the Future
This is the Helicopter Division's fourth deployment Greece, and it seems that the cooperation between the two countries will bear fruits in the future.
"The IAF's international training exercises are a strategic component in the IAF's activity and are of national significance", emphasized Maj. Hagai, Head of the Joint International Exercises Department. "The IAF's international training program is decided as a part of its work plan. We expect to expand our cooperation with different countries and open up to new fields, alongside continuous mutual work with our close allies".
The IAF’s Transport Helicopter Squadrons and the “First” Reconnaissance Squadron, returned from a comprehensive training exercise which was held in Greece. For two weeks, the aircrews flew in unknown areas and in changing topography and strengthened their cooperation. In addition, the Air Support and Helicopter Division Commander met with his Greek counterpart for the first time.
The Israeli air force has confirmed for the first time that an advanced missile approach warning system has been incorporated as part of the 2025 upgrade programme for its Sikorsky CH-53 transport helicopters.
Developed by Israeli industry, the new defensive capability is referred to by the service as the Dragon Block 3. It is designed to give effective warning of missile attack, and fast activation of countermeasures equipment, with 360° coverage.
Launched in 2006, the air force's modernisation programme for the CH-53 "Yasur" is intended to keep the rotorcraft in service until at least 2025. Work included structural treatments and the installation of new avionics and other systems to support the range of missions that the heavy-lift type is required to perform.
Israel's CH-53s were involved during recent conflicts in Lebanon and Gaza, during which the aircraft were targeted by a variety of rockets and missiles.
Israel Aircraft Industries has abandoned plans to develop a helicopter-launched variant of its Nimrod laser-guided missile. There have been export orders for the vehicle-mounted surface-to-surface version of the anti-armour missile, but no orders for an air-launched variant.
The CH-53 Sea Stallion (Yas'ur) which marks 46 years of service in the IAF, has known both historic operations and darker days. From evacuating injured soldiers to airdropping troops and electronic warfare mission─ its pilots talk about a "machine with a soul that is capable of feeling the pilot"
On October 26th, 1969 the IAF celebrated: the first of the CH-53 "Sea Stallion" heavy-lift transport helicopters officially drafted and changed the face of the IAF. These helicopters, named Yas'ur in Hebrew, which have known brilliant successes and painful losses, are capable of carrying dozens of troops and bringing them to the combat zone, loading stretchers from the battlefield and even take part in electronic warfare mission operations.
Aircrews from the "Leaders of the Night" and "Nocturnal Birds" squadrons at the Tel Nof airbase who operate the big helicopter, say it is not a normal aircraft. "We believe that Yas'ur is 28.87 meters of a 'machine with a soul that is capable of feeling' its pilot", explains Major (res.) N' from the "Nocturnal Birds" squadron. "It's a helicopter that is capable of giving more than it is intended to give, when needed".
Many of the special missions that the Yas'ur has executed will remain unknown for years to come, but some are allowed to be published.
On December 25th, 1969, a mere few weeks after joining the IAF, three CH-53 helicopters took part in Operation "Rooster 53", during which a Soviet radar station brought from Egypt to Israel.In Operation "Dessert", which was conducted during the 1973 Yom Kippur War, the helicopters brought 625 paratroops to the peaks of Mt. Hermon in broad daylight during a low-altitude flight in a threatened area and in May of 1994, they brought Special Forces deep into Lebanon in order to kidnap Mustafa Dirani, the Hezbollah operator who held Ron Arad, the IAF weapon system officer.
Remembering The Fallen
Alongside the operations the helicopters have executed, the heavy helicopters have also known their share of accidents and disasters. The most infamous of these is the "Helicopters Disaster", which took place on the night of February 4th 1997: 73 soldiers from different brigades were killed, among them 8 aircrew members, after the collision of two helicopters above the Hula Valley near the Lebanese border. The "Disaster of the 54" in 1977, in which 54 IDF soldiers, among them 10 aircrew members, were killed when a Yas'ur crashed, has been engraved in the history of the IAF as one of the worst aerial disasters in its history. After the disaster, the number of passengers in the helicopter was limited to 33 and 4 aircrew members. In July, 2010, as part of a high-altitude flight training exercise in Romania, a Yas'ur crashed into a mountain side and claimed the lives of four pilots, two airborne mechanics and a Romanian officer.
Sticking With Yas'ur
Over the many years in which the big helicopters have served in the IAF, the CH-53 helicopters have undergone several improvements that have extended their lifespan, allowing them to continue flying safely for many years past the manufacturer's instructions, while adjusting their operational capabilities to the current warfare. Project " Yas'ur 2000", which took place during the 80s and 90s, gave helicopters the possibility of flying safely until the millennium and project "Yas'ur 2025", which is currently being undertaken, will extend the lifespan of the helicopters until the quarter century. "Even though it arrived in the IAF many years ago, it is a helicopter that still does good work and contains the most advanced systems around", explains Captain A' from the "Nocturnal Birds" squadron. "It does everything a helicopter can do. It's impressive seeing this 'beast' taking to the air and hovering all over again".
The Israeli air force has in recent months re-emphasised its urgent need to acquire a replacement for an ageing fleet of Sikorsky CH-53H "Yasur" helicopters. The service has expressed its operational need to introduce the Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey, but budget restrictions have delayed a contract, and sources note the tiltrotor will not replace the heavy-lift capabilities provided by the CH-53.
Until a replacement can be acquired, the air force's 22 maintenance unit is tasked with keeping the air force's upgraded rotorcraft in operational condition. It last year completed an extensive upgrade project which will extend their service lives until at least 2025.
Launched in 2006, the modernisation activity included full structure treatment and the installation of new avionics and other systems that relate directly to the variety of the missions the CH-53 performs for Israel.
"As long as there is no replacement in our bases, we have to keep this special machine working," says the head of the unit's engineering division, identified only as Lt Col M. "For that we developed a series of tests and processes that were not available elsewhere," he adds. This process involves the manufacture of spare parts that are no longer available from other sources, and additional processes which he says are aimed at enabling the CH-53s to perform their special missions.
One potential replacement for the Yasur fleet is the new CH-53K being developed for the US Marine Corps. The Israeli air force has expressed its interest in the type, and is following its development closely.
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