Israel – Members of the Air Force’s elite rescue 669 Unit met with intelligence officials and helicopter squadron pilots in recent days to ensure they were ready to work together to rescue pilots who ejected from their aircraft.
Subscribe to our Daily Roundup Email
Although there have been no cases of downed pilots in hostile territory in many years, the IAF says it remains crucial to prepare for such a scenario.
“This is a mission that could occur at any given moment. Even tomorrow morning,” said Maj. Baruch, head of the Helicopter Department, which is a part of the Air Division Unit at the IAF’s General Headquarters. “We must get hold of critical information in a short period of time, and launch the rescue as quickly as possible,” he added.
Unit 669 members are highly trained in a range of skills, for the purpose of sending them far behind enemy lines, where they must safely extract air crews in trouble. They travel in Sa’ar-type transport helicopters.
Those who took part in the recent meeting say that information-sharing, and drawing up joint working plans dominated talks between the various units, adding that this sort of cooperation is crucial for future rescue missions.
“For air crews, the decision to eject from a plane is the last answer to a problem that develops in the air,” said Maj. Baruch. “It only happens when the plane is irreversibly damaged, and there’s no other choice. As soon as a ‘plane ditched’ message arrive, a chain of actions begins in the air force, aimed at one goal: Saving the pilot’s life,” he added.
The pilot is viewed as a “force in distress,” Baruch said.
According to foreign press reports, the IAF bombed a weapons convoy in Syria on January 30.
content is provided courtesy of the Jerusalem Post.
Please G-d let me be wrong about Israel attacking in the North.
get the facts right. 669 was sent to retrieve the bodies from a downed helicopter in the Second Lebanese War where 5 air crew (including one woman) lost their lives.