Israeli fighter aircraft will be flying over cities and towns across the country over the coming days in preparation for the military’s annual Independence Day flyover, the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit said on Monday.
Independence Day will begin the night of May 8, following Memorial Day commemorations.
Last year, residents of Tel Aviv were shocked to see practice flights over the city without any announcement by the IDF, causing the military to release an official apology “for the panic that was caused.”
The IDF announced that it would release plans for practice flights in the future.
This year, the military has released a list with the estimated times and locations for the practice flights for the flyby, which are scheduled to begin on Monday morning with flights over the coast between 9:50 a.m. and 11:30 a.m., followed by flights over the southern city of Beersheba between 2:45 p.m. and 3:30 p.m.
On Monday, the military will also test the siren system on Jerusalem’s Mount Herzl military cemetery ahead of Memorial Day commemorations, which will take place next Wednesday. In the event of an actual emergency the siren will sound twice.
Tuesday morning will see flights over Beersheba between 8:15 a.m. and 9:00 a.m. Flights will return to the coastline on Wednesday morning, and on Sunday, May 5, practice flights will take place in the skies over Har HaTayasim Air Force Memorial outside Jerusalem.
Flights will take place over Haifa, Ramat David airbase, Har HaTayasim, Tel Aviv and the President’s Residence in Jerusalem on Monday between 11.30 a.m. and 1 p.m.
The final practice flights will occur on Tuesday morning, May 7, over Tel Aviv and the President’s Residence.
Israel’s flyover is one of the most popular parts of the country’s Independence Day celebrations, with millions of Israelis watching the combat jets, transport aircraft and helicopters fly over the entirety of the country – from northern Israel to the beaches along the coast to the desert in the South.
The IAF’s acrobatics squadron also carries out maneuvers throughout the event.
Last year, dozens of planes from foreign militaries joined Israeli F-35, F-16, F-16I and the M-346 training plane during the country’s 70th Independence Day flyover.
Also wowing the crowds were IAF Apache, CH-53 Sea Stallion and UH-60 BlackHawk helicopters, a Boeing 707 refueling aircraft, and the C-130 Hercules and C-130J Super Hercules transport planes, as well as the B200 King Air and the Gulfstream V, used primarily for reconnaissance and intelligence missions.
The fly-over also saw the participation of civilian aircraft including Arkia’s Boeing 757 and Embraer E-Jet, and El Al’s Boeing 787 Dreamliner. The Israel Police also participated with three police H125 Airbus helicopters and three Air Tractor AT-802s belonging to the police fire brigade.
Spectators in Haifa, Tel Aviv and Tiberias also witnessed a special parachuting demonstration with over 100 past and present commanders and combat soldiers jumping from a Super Hercules plane into the Mediterranean Sea and the Kinneret, before being picked up by elite Shayetet 13 naval commando forces.