Page 72 - Air Forces Monthly - September 2017

through its paces by the Flight Test Center. ISRAELI
FLIGHT TEST FOCUS

B
efore any new airframe or airborne
system can be deployed over
the battlefield it first has to be
rigorously proven to ensure its readiness
for engineers and mission-planners on the
ground and the pilots who will operate it
in combat. On the way to the front line,
Israeli Air Force (IAF) equipment is put
With considerable allocations of
most of its counterparts in one key FIGHT TEST CENTER
equipment and personnel, the IAF’s flight
test unit is designated as a ‘centre’ rather
than a squadron. It also differs from

respect: not only does it conduct
respect: not only does it conduct
T
test work in peacetime, but The Israeli Fight Test Center is the subject of the first in he
a
also during conflict, and at a new series of features examining military flight test
times even under fire. establishments around the world. Noam Menashe
Born of war takes a look at this secretive unit.
The Center emerged from
lessons learned during
the 1973 Yom Kippur War.
The IAF’s commander at the
time, Maj Gen Benny Peled,
decided the air force required an
decided the air force required an
independent unit in charge of testing
and evaluating systems and platforms
prior to their introduction with the IAF.
Established on April 1, 1974 with Yossi
Yaari as its first commander, the facility (also
known as Unit 5601 – MANAT, and
as 601 Flight Test Center) comes
under the direct command of
the IAF’s Weapons and
Equipment Division.
From the start, it
aimed to find
solutions
to

Above: As tradition dictates, the Center’s F-15I Ra’am 201 (c/n 1276/I001, FMS 94-0286) was
the very fi rst example of the type built for the IAF, and is customised to its specifi cations.
Right: A test pilot boards the Flight Test Center F-15I at Tel Nof. One of the tasks of the unit’s
F-15s is launching Ankor ballistic missile simulators, which simulate the trajectory of a ‘Scud’
or other ballistic missile en route to attack Israel. All photos, Noam Menashe unless stated

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