120 Squadron (Israel Air Force)

120 Squadron served under Wing 27 at Ben Gurion International Airport before moving from Lod to Nevatim Air Force Base in 2008.[5][2] A 2011 order-of-battle table identifies it as "The International Squadron" and lists its aircraft as "B-707 variants, 1124N."[5] Its principal mission is aerial refueling to enable IAF fighters to operate at ranges and for durations that would otherwise be impossible.[1] Not every campaign required tanker support: there was "little or no KC-707 tanker involvement" during the 2006 Lebanon campaign because distances from IAF bases to the operational area were short.[5]

The squadron operates Boeing 707 Re'em aircraft, which can be configured for aerial refueling, cargo, or passenger transport.[2] Israel began acquiring and modifying former civilian 707s for refueling in 1979.[6] A Re'em configured for refueling can carry 20 additional fuel tanks and can alternatively carry passengers, military equipment, or cargo.[7] Its Israeli-developed refueling system is operated by a "boomer" seated at the rear of the aircraft, who coordinates with the captain and manages the fighters cycling through to connect.[2] A full crew consists of a captain, copilot, flight engineer, navigator, and boomer.[2]

A 2012 account says the squadron was established as an independent unit in 1964.[1] Anniversary reports, however, imply different establishment dates, as discussed below.[3][2] Its early equipment included Boeing 377 Stratocruisers, which were among the few aircraft at the time capable of transatlantic flights and suited to the IAF's need for long-range heavy transport.[1]

Between 1964 and 1966, the squadron conducted covert missions toward the Egypt–Yemen frontier, flying at night along the Saudi coast and stopping at Djibouti to refuel before returning to Israel.[1] These sorties reportedly dropped weapons and supplies to rebels fighting Egyptian forces during Yemen's civil war, with the strategic aim of drawing Egyptian military attention away from the Sinai.[1] The squadron also participated in the Yom Kippur War and Operation Entebbe.[2]

The Boeing 707 Re'em has been the squadron's defining aircraft for decades. By 2026, the fleet was approaching 60 years in service, with cockpits retaining their original mechanical layout—dials, switches, and levers largely unchanged—while electronics and computing systems had been modernized.[8] The aircraft's airliner profile makes it visible on radar, and its limited agility and defensive systems require mission planners to select flight paths carefully.[8]

Maintaining the aging fleet presents ongoing challenges. Spare parts can be difficult to source, and Israeli defense companies have manufactured specific components when commercial supplies are unavailable.[7] In 2017, the IAF purchased a Boeing 707 from the Brazilian Air Force specifically for spare parts.[7] IAF-wide inventories have listed around five to eight KC-707 tankers as serviceable at various points, alongside four heavily modified 707s used in the electronic-warfare role, although those electronic-warfare aircraft are not attributed specifically to 120 Squadron.[9][5]

Boeing KC-46 tankers are being introduced into Israeli service under the name "Gideonim"; the first was reported delivered to Israel on May 27, 2026.[6][10] IAF plans called for operating them alongside the Re'ems rather than immediately replacing the older aircraft, with the combination expected to expand the IAF's capacity to operate at extended ranges.[10]

The squadron's operational record spans some of the most demanding long-range missions in IAF history. In 1985, it took part in Operation Wooden Leg—the IAF strike on PLO headquarters in Tunis—providing in-flight refueling over the Mediterranean twice during the 2,300-kilometer mission: once en route and again before the strike. One Re'em also served as an airborne forward command post.[1][2]

During Operation Solomon on May 24–25, 1991, about 35 IAF and El Al aircraft, together with one Ethiopian airliner, carried 14,310 Ethiopian Jews from Addis Ababa to Israel over 36 hours.[11][12] A separate account says 30 aircraft of 120 Squadron participated alongside El Al, although that figure is difficult to reconcile with the combined-aircraft total.[1][11]

In 2019, the squadron participated in the operation to repatriate the remains of Sgt.-Maj. Zachary Baumel, an Israeli soldier missing since the 1982 Battle of Sultan Yacoub. A laboratory was installed aboard one of the aircraft to help identify his remains before the flight back to Israel.[7]

The squadron set an IAF distance record with a 14,500-kilometer flight to Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada for the multinational Red Flag exercise.[7] The three-day journey used refueling stops in Spain and at Lajes Air Base in the Azores before continuing through Bangor, Maine, to Nevada.[7] The unit has also flown cargo and transport missions to Australia, Japan, Alaska, and Russia.[7]

From 2024 onward, 120 Squadron was increasingly involved in the IAF's longest-range strike missions. The squadron first operated over Yemen on July 20, 2024, supporting the strike on the Houthi port of Hudaydah—a route of approximately 2,000 kilometers.[10][4] For the Yemen mission, unnecessary equipment was removed from the Re'em aircraft to maximize fuel load; an additional fully fueled aircraft was held in reserve but was not required.[10] The squadron commander described the Yemen mission as the IAF's longest since Operation Wooden Leg in 1985.[10]

On October 26, 2024, the squadron participated in Operation Days of Repentance, the IAF strike against Iran.[4] All Re'em aircraft were reportedly airborne within four hours of the October 7, 2023 Hamas terror attack, and the squadron carried out hundreds of refuelings during the first month of the conflict that followed.[4]

During the first six days of Operation Rising Lion, each tanker reportedly carried three pilots and two navigators to enable crew rotation. Crews slept and ate aboard their aircraft for nearly a week, landing for ground refueling before taking off again.[4] Re'em aircraft supported fighters operating deep inside Iranian airspace and delivered millions of liters of fuel through more than 700 midair-refueling connections during the twelve-day campaign, with sorties lasting up to eight hours.[8] More than a year of training, hundreds of rehearsals, and joint exercises with U.S. forces preceded the operation.[8]

Nevatim Air Force Base, the squadron's home, was struck by three ballistic missiles during Iran's April 14, 2024 attack; the squadron continued operating through the strikes.[10]

Beyond its combat and transport roles, the squadron has carried out humanitarian missions to disaster areas worldwide and transported relief supplies and wounded personnel.[2] Following the 2012 Burgas terrorist attack in Bulgaria, in which Israeli tourists were murdered, the squadron transported wounded survivors back to Israel.[2]

The squadron also participated in an IAF delegation to Germany for a joint commemorative flyover with German aircraft above Fürstenfeldbruck Air Base and Dachau concentration camp.[7] The flyover honored victims of the Holocaust and the eleven Israeli athletes and coaches murdered by Palestinian terrorists at the 1972 Munich Olympics.[7] The squadron commander described the mission as personally difficult but deeply meaningful.[7]

The Jerusalem Post reported that in the year before its September 2020 article, the squadron conducted hundreds of refueling missions, including operations connected to Israel's "war between the wars" campaign against Iranian entrenchment in Syria and the smuggling of advanced weapons to Hezbollah.[7] The squadron commander declined to detail those specific missions but described one particularly complex mission as requiring months of planning and training.[7] These accounts reflect attributed reporting on sensitive operational activities.

Several details in the historical and operational record of 120 Squadron are presented differently across sources. Reports on Operation Rising Lion give significantly different totals for aerial-refueling activity: Ynet reported more than 700 midair-refueling hookups over the twelve-day operation, while JNS reported more than 60 aerial refuelings during the operation in June. The sources do not explain the discrepancy, and the figures may reflect different counting methods.[8][3]

Descriptions of the squadron's participation in Operation Solomon also differ. A 2012 account says 30 squadron aircraft took part alongside El Al, while a 2021 overview gives a combined total of about 35 IAF and El Al aircraft plus one Ethiopian aircraft. The reports do not provide enough detail to reconcile the figures.[1][11]

The founding chronology is similarly inconsistent. A 2012 account dates the squadron's establishment as an independent unit to 1964, while a 2013 profile said it was celebrating its 50th anniversary that year.[1][2] A 2026 report said the squadron marked its 60th anniversary in 2025, adding a third implied chronology that the sources do not reconcile.[3]