Editing Israeli Air Force (section)

=== Yom Kippur War (1973) ===
[[File:Israeli A4 Hazterim 260608 2.JPG|thumb|An Israeli Air Force [[Douglas A-4 Skyhawk|A-4N Skyhawk]] of [[102 Squadron (Israel)|102 Squadron]] "Flying Tiger"]]
On October 6, 1973, with war imminent, the IAF began preparing for a pre-emptive strike against Egyptian and Syrian airfields and anti-aircraft positions. The Israeli government decided against pre-emption.{{Sfn |Norton | 2004 | p = 36}} IAF aircraft were therefore in the process of re-armament to the air-to-air role when [[Yom Kippur War]] hostilities began at 14:00.{{Sfn | Aloni | Avidror | 2010 | p = 130}} The next morning began with [[Operation Tagar]], a SEAD offensive against Egyptian air defences, beginning with strikes against Egyptian air bases. ''Tagar'' was quickly discontinued when the dire situation on the [[Golan Heights]] became apparent.{{Sfn | Aloni | Avidror | 2010 | pp = 130–34}}

IAF efforts were redirected north, where the ill-fated [[Operation Model 5]] was carried out. Flying with outdated intelligence and no electronic screening against mobile SAM batteries and heavy flak, 6 IAF Phantoms were lost.{{Sfn | Aloni | Avidror | 2010 | pp = 130–34}} The sustained campaign required to defeat enemy air defences was abandoned in the face of Egyptian and Syrian advances and the IAF was forced to operate under the SAM threat. Nevertheless, the close air support it provided allowed Israeli troops on the ground to stem the tide and eventually go on the offensive, first in the north and later in the south.{{Sfn | Norton | 2004 | pp = 38–39}}{{Sfn | Aloni | 2001b | pp = 83–87}}

After the failure of the Israeli counter-offensive in the Sinai on October 8, the southern front remained relatively static and the IAF focused its attention on the Syrian front.{{Sfn | Aloni | 2001b | pp = 83–87}} While A-4 Skyhawks provided much needed support to troops on the ground, at the cost of 31 aircraft by the end of fourth day of the war,{{Sfn |Aloni | 2009 | p = 48}} IAF Phantoms repeatedly struck Syrian air fields.{{Sfn | Aloni | 2004b | pp = 37–45}} Following Syrian [[FROG-7]] strikes on military and civilian targets in northern Israel, the IAF initiated a campaign to destroy the infrastructure on which Syria's war-making capacity depended, targeting strategic targets in Syria such as its oil industry and electricity generating system.{{Sfn | Aloni | 2004b | p = 41}} By October 13 the Syrians had been pushed back and beyond their initial lines, Damascus had come within range of Israeli artillery and an Iraqi armored brigade, the vanguard of its expeditionary force, was destroyed.{{Sfn | Aloni | 2004b | p = 44}}

On October 14 the Egyptian army launched an offensive along the entire front but was repulsed by the [[Israel Defense Forces|IDF]]. Israel followed on this success by attacking at the seam between the 2nd and 3rd Egyptian armies and crossing the [[Suez Canal]] into Egypt. Israeli forces fanned north and south, destroying Egyptian rear units and [[1973 raid on Egyptian missile bases|punching holes]] through its air defence array. This allowed the IAF the freedom of action it was previously denied and renewed attacks led to the collapse of the [[Egyptian Air Defense Command|Egyptian Air Defence Force]]. This prompted increased diplomatic activity to resolve the war, coupled with increased activity by the Egyptian Air Force. From about October 18 to the end of the war, intensive air battles took place between Israeli and Egyptian aircraft.{{Sfn | Aloni | 2001b | pp = 83–87}}{{Sfn | Aloni | 2004a | p = 68}}

Official Israeli Air Force losses of the Yom Kippur War were 102 aircraft, including 32 F-4 Phantoms, 53 A-4 Skyhawks, 11 Dassault Mirages, and 6 [[Dassault Super Mystere|IAI Sa'ars]], although other accounts suggest as many as 128 Israeli aircraft were lost.{{Sfn | Nordeen | 1990 | p = 146}}{{Sfn | Norton | 2004 | p = 40}} 91 air force personnel, of which 53 were airmen, were killed. 172 Egyptian aircraft were shot down in air-to-air combat, for a loss of between 5 and 21 for the Israelis, on all fronts.{{Sfn | Norton | 2004 | p = 40}}{{Sfn | Dunstan | 2003 | p = 39}} No official numbers were released on the Arab side, though total Egyptian losses were between 235 and 242 aircraft. Syria lost between 135 and 179.{{Sfn | Norton | 2004 | p = 40}}{{Sfn | Franken | Van Der Avoort | 2012}}