The Israeli Air Force and the German Air Force will perform a joint flyover in Germany for the first time ever on Tuesday, August 18.
The joint fly-over will pass above the former Nazi airfield Furstenfeldbruck near Munich, which is where Palestinian terrorists shot dead nine Israeli athletes and coaches and one German police officer at the 1972 Summer Olympics, and skirt the edge of the city of Dachau, where the Nazis established their first concentration camp in 1933.
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It will be the first joint exercise between the IAF and German Air Force to take place on German soil and is also the only international exercise the IAF is conducting abroad this year, due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The German Air Force held joint exercises in Israel last fall.
According to an IAF statement, the exercise is being held to continue enhancing the IAF's capabilities, maintain its readiness to contend with various scenarios and to continue strengthening its bonds and cooperation with allied air forces.
"The IAF will participate in the exercise for the first time as Germany's guests", said Lt. Col. A, Commander of the 105th "Scorpion" Squadron, which operates "Barak" F-16C/D fighter jets. "This is an opportunity to showcase our abilities and learn about NATO's flight and training technique."
We will be "flying side by side with the Israeli Air Force for the first time in our history," Ingo Gerhartz, chief of the German Air Force, told the German press agency dpa on Thursday.
Gerhartz called the planned event "a moving sign of our friendship today" and a sign of determination to "fight anti-Semitism with the utmost consistency."
After the flyby, an official memorial ceremony at the Dachau concentration camp will be held. The ceremony will be attended by the German Defense Minister of Annegret Kramp Karrenbauer, Israel's Ambassador to Germany Jeremy Issacharoff, the commanders of both air forces and other dignitaries.
Deputy commander of the IAF's 109th Squadron, Maj. Y, a grandson of a Holocaust survivor of Dachau, will speak at the ceremony.
"On a tactical level, we have the incredible opportunity to learn from other air forces and train in unfamiliar territory and challenging conditions," concluded Lt. Col. A. "From a strategic standpoint, we are strengthening our ability to cooperate with other nations and air forces."
On July 26, the German Heron TP UAV aircraft finished its first test flight in Israel, in what defense officials hailed as "a significant and historic phase in the strategic cooperation" between Jerusalem and Berlin.
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