118 Squadron (Israel)

In a 2011 force table, 118 Squadron was listed under Wing 8 at Tel Nof Air Base with CH-53-2000 Yasur aircraft.[2] At that time, the Israeli Air Force maintained two CH-53 squadrons at Tel Nof, 114 and 118; the two units were consolidated in 2023.[2][4]

The squadron's commander described its work as operating both covertly and openly, near home and far into the depth of enemy territory, bringing capabilities to the battlefield that only the Yasur can provide.[4] Its documented mission set has included transporting special-forces units into hostile territory, rescues, medical evacuations, and the transport of troops and commanders.[3][4]

During the Second Lebanon War, 118 Squadron flew commandos from the IDF General Staff Reconnaissance Unit — Sayeret Matkal — to Lebanon's Bekaa Valley for an operation against Hezbollah.[3] The squadron was also described as regularly ferrying special forces into enemy territory during major Israeli operations.[3]

During Operation Cast Lead in Gaza, the squadron evacuated 11 soldiers from the Gaza Strip.[3] On October 7, 2023, one of the squadron's Yasur helicopters was struck by RPG fire shortly after landing paratroopers near Sa'ad Junction; the report noted only several minor injuries among those aboard.[5] On December 16, 2023, a 118 Squadron Yasur joined two Black Hawk helicopters on an evacuation mission from Khan Yunis, carrying four critically wounded patients — attended by eight members of Unit 669 — to Soroka Hospital in a flight of 12 minutes, with just 55 minutes elapsing from the initiating explosion to the helicopter's arrival at the hospital.[5]

Alongside its combat role, 118 Squadron has played a prominent part in civilian disaster response. On April 26, 2018, a deputy commander of the squadron led a Yasur crew to the Nahal Tzafit flood disaster, where the crew lowered a Unit 669 rescuer to reach four youths trapped in a narrow ravine before continuing to a second group of survivors. The full rescue effort took approximately an hour and a half.[6]

In April 2023, the squadron responded to severe flash flooding in the Arava desert. The first helicopter launched from Tel Nof at around 6 p.m. after reports that a vehicle carrying boys had been caught in Nahal Paran.[7] The crew and IDF Unit 669 rescuers subsequently evacuated an elderly man and four children from a vehicle that had drifted roughly a kilometer and a half into a creek before becoming stuck.[7] A second, more complex rescue recovered ten civilians standing atop a vehicle. The crews flew to Ovda base to refuel before returning; in total, more than ten separate search areas were covered, and reserve pilots were called up to sustain the operation through the night.[7] A pilot described the conditions as "a long flight, with lightning storms, darkness, rain, flying slowly, not in a straight line like we are used to in order to get around the clouds."[7]

The squadron also transported Gilad Shalit during his return in 2011. A lieutenant colonel assigned to the unit flew Shalit first from Amitai Base near the Kerem Shalom crossing to Tel Nof, and then from Tel Nof to his home in Mitzpe Hila, with the helicopter circling the village as crowds welcomed him below.[8]

The squadron's history carries several devastating losses. In 1977, a Yasur disaster killed all 54 people aboard the helicopter — 44 paratroopers and 10 crew members.[1] On February 4, 1997, two Yasur helicopters of the squadron collided while en route to the Dla'at outpost in Lebanon, killing 73 soldiers.[5]

In July 2010, a 118 Squadron Yasur crashed in Romania's Carpathian Mountains during a joint low-altitude training exercise, killing four Israeli pilots, two Israeli flight mechanics, and a Romanian air force officer.[1][5] Israel and Romania agreed to investigate jointly; an investigation later attributed the accident most likely to human error in low visibility.[1][9]

In July 2022, the IDF announced that 118 Squadron would merge with 114 Squadron ahead of the planned arrival of CH-53K King Stallion helicopters, with the two units to be re-established under the unified name "Night Leaders" in 2025 and the first CH-53Ks scheduled to arrive in 2026.[9] The operational Yasur fleet was to continue its covert and overt missions throughout the transition period.[9]

By July 2023, the consolidation had taken effect, uniting the two squadrons into a single Yasur unit referred to as the unified 118 Squadron.[4] The rationale given was to pool experience and operational reserves and to prepare the combined force for the arrival of the CH-53K, designated "Praa" in the IDF.[4]

English-language sources render the squadron's Hebrew nickname in several ways. The 2011 RAND report hosted by the Library of Congress uses "The Nocturnal Birds of Prey Squadron,"[2] while a 2010 Jerusalem Post report called the unit the "Night Birds,"[3] the Times of Israel referred to it as the "118th Night Riders Squadron,"[9] and a Ynet report used "Night Guides Squadron."[8] The Hebrew דורסי הלילה is also rendered as "Night Raptors."[1] The sources document these variations but do not establish whether they reflect translation choices, changes over time, or errors.