Red Baron Squadron (Israel Air Force)

The squadron was opened at Tel Nof Airbase in 2018 to support Germany’s acquisition and operation of the Heron TP.[1] Its central function is training German Air Force personnel with Israeli counterparts, and 2022 reporting described it as the only IAF squadron that permanently works with a non-Israeli squadron.[1]

The aircraft is known in Israeli service as the Eitan. The German Heron TP program uses a version of that platform modified with Israeli technology, while the training arrangement covers routine flight operations and, following authorization, weapons-system instruction.[2][3] The program was scheduled to keep German teams training in Israel through 2027.[1]

In June 2018, the German and Israeli defense ministries signed an agreement for the leasing, maintenance, and training of German Heron TP aircraft.[3] The arrangement was described as a nine-year lease of seven aircraft that also included operational support and maintenance; it was reported to cost $600 million.[1][2] The Red Baron Squadron opened in the year the agreement was signed, linking the bilateral framework to a sustained training presence at Tel Nof.[1]

The squadron’s name refers to Manfred Albrecht Freiherr von Richthofen, the German World War I ace known as the Red Baron.[1] Reporting at the time said the unit would train German teams through 2027, matching the nine-year term described for the agreement.[1]

The Heron TP is a multi-mission unmanned aircraft used for reconnaissance, combat, and support roles. Reported specifications include a 40-hour endurance, a maximum takeoff weight of 5,300 kilograms, a payload of 999.7 kilograms, and the capacity to carry air-to-ground missiles.[2] The German aircraft is based on the IAF’s Eitan platform and incorporates Israeli technology.[3]

A German Heron TP completed its first test flight in Israel in July 2020.[3] The joint program involved the defense establishments of both countries, the UAV Executive Office in the Israeli Defense Ministry’s Directorate of Defense Research and Development, Israel Aerospace Industries, and Airbus DS Airborne Solutions.[3]

German personnel trained with Israeli counterparts at a dedicated compound at Tel Nof. By April 2022, 35 teams of two Germans each had been undergoing instruction, initially in normal flight operations.[2] A separate report in October 2022 described 12 German pilots arriving for a particular course—the second course in which German personnel learned to fly their own drones after earlier teams trained on IAF-operated Eitan aircraft.[1] Weapons-system instruction was expected to accompany authorization to arm the German fleet.[2]

The Red Baron Squadron was described as unique within the IAF because it permanently works alongside a non-Israeli squadron.[1] The associated training mission marked the first time Germany maintained a constant deployment in Israel or in any state outside NATO, according to the 2022 account.[1]

The aircraft program also became a visible component of German-Israeli defense cooperation. After the first German Heron TP test flight in July 2020, Israel’s Ministry of Defense characterized the milestone as a significant and historic phase in strategic cooperation between Jerusalem and Berlin.[3] The participation of government bodies and Israeli and German defense companies gave the program both military-training and industrial dimensions.[3]

Arming the German Heron TP fleet was politically divisive in Germany.[1] In April 2022, German media reports described a proposed order for 140 Israeli missiles—60 for training and 80 for operational use—along with additional equipment and weapons instruction. The proposal followed Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and Germany’s decision to increase defense spending.[2]

Reporting from October 25, 2022, stated that the Bundestag had announced the previous April that the drones would be equipped with Israeli missiles.[1] The available cited accounts therefore document an announced decision to arm the aircraft, rather than an absence of formal approval; they do not establish whether the missiles were subsequently delivered or used operationally.

The Red Baron Squadron is distinct from the IAF’s Red Squadron, also identified as the Flying Dragon in reporting. The latter is an adversary-training unit that operates F-16 fighter aircraft to imitate enemy forces during exercises.[4] The similar names make this distinction important when identifying the two units.