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Times
2 hours ago
- Times
Giora Epstein obituary: Israeli Air Force's ace fighter pilot
Guiding his Mirage fighter jet a mere 50ft above sand dunes near the Egyptian city of El-Arish, Giora Epstein stalked his target at a speed of more than 800mph, raised the trigger cover, flicked the cannon switch and fired. His volley struck the Soviet-made Sukhoi Su-7 and the tail of the plane exploded, while the front flipped over and smashed into the ground. No pilot, Epstein concluded, could have ejected in time. He returned to his base in Israel knowing he had achieved his first kill. Many were to follow. After this success in his French-built plane during Operation Moked (Focus), a surprise attack on Egyptian air force facilities in 1967 in what came to be known as the Six-Day War, Epstein downed another 15 Egyptian jets and a helicopter. His career tally of 17 kills made him ace of aces in the Israeli air force and top globally in the supersonic jet fighter era. 'I remember each one,' he wrote in his 2020 autobiography, Hawkeye. 'Every detail, every pressing of the trigger or firing of the missile. I vividly recall the pursuit, the aerial manoeuvres, the moment when I saw the plane ahead of me crash and burn on the ground.' He reached ace status with his fifth kill in 1970 during the War of Attrition and was promoted to head the departments of photography and long-range airstrikes. Egypt and Syria suddenly attacked Israel on October 6, 1973, while Epstein was at air force headquarters. He turned on the national warning siren system that announced the outbreak of the Yom Kippur War to the country but had no interest in remaining in the command and control bunker. Returning to the cockpit, he claimed 12 kills in the space of a week. Flying a Nesher fighter plane, he was lured into an ambush and outnumbered 20 to one by Egyptian MiGs but shot down four of them during a nine-minute dogfight that left him exhausted and shaking from exposure to extreme G-forces. Physical and mental advantages, he later mused, helped to make him a remarkable pilot. A calm personality kept him clear-headed under pressure, his tolerance for pain was unusually high, his small stature helped him to withstand G-forces and his eyesight was exceptional. 'The average range of vision for a fighter pilot is eight to twelve miles,' he wrote. 'I could spot fighter jets that were as much as 24 miles away.' Giora Epstein was born in 1938, to Polish parents, Hillel and Chaya, who met at a Zionist camp. He later added the Hebrew word Even, meaning 'stone', to his surname. His father was a docker and construction worker while his mother looked after children on the kibbutz where the family lived: Negba, a Jewish settlement founded in the south of what was then Mandatory Palestine. He was evacuated at the start of the 1948 Arab-Israeli War only hours before the Egyptian military attacked the kibbutz after Israel's declaration of independence. When he returned two years later, he had developed a fascination with aircraft and was a voracious reader, especially of American Wild West stories and books about RAF pilots. 'I knew by heart all the tales of the battles of Douglas Bader,' he said. He would later meet the Second World War ace. When informed of Epstein's combat record, Bader was said to be 'quite impressed'. Drafted into the Israeli military at 17, Epstein volunteered for the pilot course but was made to train as an aircraft mechanic after medical tests indicated a heart condition. Still, he negotiated his way into a paratroop unit and discovered a love of free-falling. He made hundreds of jumps, twice breaking a leg in hard landings. In 1962 he competed for Israel's skydiving team in the World Sport Parachuting Championships in the United States and recalled the folk musician Pete Seeger giving a concert for the competitors. 'I knew all of his songs by heart and at the end of the evening, I taught him to sing Hava Nagila,' he said. The persistent Epstein was finally cleared for pilot school in 1963 after more medical tests and graduated top of his class. Two missions did end in failure: attempts to assassinate Yasser Arafat. In 1968 a pair of suspicious Mercedes cars, one black, one blue, were spotted on a road in Jordan and Epstein was ordered to fire at the blue vehicle. 'When I landed, I was told, 'Idiot, Yasser Arafat was in the other Mercedes!' ' In 1972, Epstein strafed a building in Lebanon where the Palestinian political leader was believed to be holding a meeting, but he survived. Unwilling to accept a desk job as he approached his forties — he protested that he 'didn't want to fly Parker pens' — Epstein joined the Israeli commercial airline El Al in 1977. He flew Boeing aircraft until the mandatory retirement age of 65, remaining an air force reservist until his 59th birthday. He flew Israelis and Iranian Jews out of Tehran in 1979 on a chaotic rescue mission during the Iranian Revolution. In 1967 Epstein married Sara, an operations secretary in his squadron. She survives him along with two daughters, Adi and Dana, and a son, Guy. All worked in the air force: Guy as an officer in an anti-aircraft missile unit and Adi and Dana as operations officers. In his seventies, Epstein was diagnosed with heart failure and fitted with a mechanical pump. He was honoured by the Israel Defence Forces in 2018 with a special promotion to brigadier general. Though he appreciated the attention, his reserved nature meant that he did not ostentatiously celebrate his triumphs in the manner of his fellow pilots. 'With me, there were no buzz flights [low-altitude passes over the airfield] or whoops of victory after each kill,' he said. 'But I let nothing stop me on my way to victory.' Giora Epstein, ace fighter pilot, was born on May 20, 1938. He died on July 19, 2025, aged 87
Express Tribune
12 hours ago
- Politics
- Express Tribune
Pakistan ready for composite dialogue with India, says Dar
Listen to article In another overture of peace, Pakistan on Tuesday once again extended the olive branch to arch-rival India and has offered composite dialogue with New Delhi to settle outstanding issues between the two nuclear-armed neighbours. The latest offer was extended by Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar. Addressing a news conference in New York, he stated that the dialogue would not be limited to terrorism, stressing that Pakistan has been one of the biggest victims of terrorism. Dar also noted that US Secretary of State Marco Rubio acknowledged Pakistan's sacrifices in the war against terrorism during a recent meeting. The deputy prime minister further elaborated that during the bilateral meeting with Rubio, the longstanding Jammu and Kashmir dispute was also discussed. He underscored that permanent peace in the region is not possible without a resolution of the Kashmir issue, recalling that US President Donald Trump had raised the matter multiple times. Speaking on the Indus Waters Treaty, the foreign minister said Islamabad's stance is clear: the treaty is binding, and no single party can unilaterally terminate or amend it. He reiterated earlier warnings by the country's leadership that any attempt to divert or block Pakistan's share of water would be unacceptable. Responding to another question, Dar stated that Pakistan has no plans to recognise Israel. He called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and the delivery of humanitarian aid to the Palestinian people. He also reaffirmed Pakistan's unwavering support for the establishment of an independent and sovereign Palestinian state, with Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital. Dar described his visit to the United States as successful, noting that Pakistan raised its voice for reforms in the United Nations Security Council and stressed that the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) should be granted due representation in the global body. The recent conflict between Pakistan and India marked a major military escalation between the two nuclear powers. Tension between Pakistan and India increased after the April 22 Pahalgam attack in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK), which killed 26 tourists. New Delhi immediately blamed Islamabad without providing any evidence. It also took a raft of major diplomatic measures to downgrade its ties with Pakistan. Read: India hardens position on Pahalgam attack Islamabad denied the allegations and offered an impartial probe into the incident. On the night of May 7, the Indian Air Force launched an unprovoked attack on civilian targets in Pakistan. The Pakistan Air Force (PAF) immediately retaliated and shot down at least six IAF jets, including three French-built Rafales. Read more: Decoding defeat: Five times Indian military officials admitted losses against Pakistan Escalating further, on the night of 9–10 May, India launched another round of strikes against Pakistan, but this time targeted military sites and airbases. In retaliation, Pakistan launched Operation Bunyanum Marsoos, striking back at Indian military installations, including missile storage sites, airbases and other strategic targets. The early morning strikes came as a shock for the Indian military leadership, who had underestimated Pakistan's response to their unprovoked attacks. As the conflict spiralled, US President Donald Trump announced on May 10 that a ceasefire had been reached following intense diplomatic efforts overnight. The two sides gradually reduced troop numbers from the international border in the following weeks. A tense calm prevails between the two countries, with India continuing to issue beligerent statements.
NDTV
6 days ago
- General
- NDTV
British F-35's Recovery Reminds Of Daring Rescue Of Mirage 2000 Jet From Mauritius
New Delhi: The evacuation of a stranded British F-35B jet from Thiruvananthapuram on Tuesday rekindled memories of a similar problem the Indian Air Force faced two decades ago - one of its Mirage-2000 jets was badly damaged and stuck in Mauritius for 22 days before a risky and audacious operation succeeded in flying it back to India. Incidentally, it also landed in Thiruvananthapuram. The little known mission to bring back the plane will go down in India's aviation history as one of the most celebrated demonstrations of piloting skills, courage and technical ingenuity of IAF engineers who made the aircraft airworthy in a short time after it had suffered extensive damage because of a belly landing in Mauritius. It also put the spotlight on the grit and planning skill of the pilot, Sqn Ldr Jaspreet Singh, who braved dangerous weather and conducted three mid-air refuellings to bring back the repaired Mirage. He flew non-stop for five hours and 10 minutes on October 26, 2004 over the desolate Indian Ocean, where any malfunction en route would have meant almost certain disaster. "I remember that day as clearly as if it was yesterday," Jaspreet, who took retirement from the IAF in 2018, told PTI. "I was confident of undertaking this risky flight across the ocean as I had full faith in the team of exceptional technical personnel who had worked non-stop over two weeks to repair the aircraft," he said. "Military aviation is all about taking calculated risks when the mission demands, preparing for all possible contingencies and having your backup plans in place," he said. The French-built Mirage-2000 had crash-landed on October 4 at the Sir Seewoosagur-Ramgoolam International Airport in Port Louis after taking part in an air show. The belly landing had damaged the aircraft extensively, especially the underbelly auxiliary fuel tanks, the airframe, avionics and cockpit instrumentation. On the other hand, the USD 110 million F-35B jet suffered a technical snag while on a maritime exercise in the Indian Ocean and had to make an emergency landing at the Thiruvananthapuram international airport on June 14. The jet was part of the HMS Prince of Wales Carrier Strike Group of the British Royal Navy. A team of British engineers was flown in to fix the stealth fighter jet, and it finally took off for Darwin, Australia on Tuesday morning after almost 37 days. Similarly, a group of engineers, pilots and one IL-76 transport aircraft with spares and one IL-78 refuelling tanker aircraft flew from India to Port Louis, Mauritius to fix the Mirage and help bring it back. The rectification team made the aircraft ready for ground runs by October 13 and the Mirage did its first test flight on October 14, just 10 days after the landing accident. The team was faced with a task that had no precedence, given that Mirage-2000 is not cleared by the manufacturer Dassault to do a no-wheels landing, even in an emergency. Recalling the mission, an IAF officer said that Jaspreet, then posted with a fighter squadron in the Central sector, was specially chosen as the pilot to fly the aircraft back to India. The ferry route is over one of the most desolate stretches of the Indian Ocean and even for a fully serviceable single engine fighter it is considered a highly challenging task, said the officer. The fact that the ferry would also involve multiple air to air refuelling added to the overall degree of difficulty, he said. Once the aircraft had been repaired, Jaspreet carried out one taxi test and three air test sorties between October 12 and 19, during which multiple problems were revealed related to its fly-by-wire system, rudder, data display screen, throttle, brakes and fuel gauges. The 2126 nautical mile (nearly 4000 kilometer) flight to India was initially planned for October 20, but severe weather in the second half of the route, ruled out air-to-air refueling. "The inclement weather ensured that one Mirage 2000, one IL-78, one IL-76, and more than 50 IAF personnel were now stranded with the possibility that the wait could go on for weeks," said Jaspreet. However, on the morning of October 25, satellite pictures revealed that the first 1000 nautical miles (NM) of the flight route from Mauritius to TVM was clear, allowing three air to air refuelling. With the window of opportunity closing, Air Headquarters signed off for the ferry flight to take off on October 26, 2004. Jaspreet and the fighter took off at 7.55 am from a wet runway with very little fuel so as not to over stress the airframe. He entered the clouds almost immediately. But he had to ensure the first refuelling 11 minutes after take-off. There was zero margin for error. None was made. The Mirage refuelled in time and climbed safely to 25,000 feet. A second refuelling was also done successfully. Since refuelling was not possible in the final leg because of bad weather, the team came up with a plan: Jaspreet would top up fuel from the IL-78 while still 1100 NM short of Thiruvananthapuram and climb to a level above 40,000 feet to fly unaided the rest of the way. Flying at a higher altitude and optimum speed, the Mirage would consume less fuel. But it also meant flying the last 2 hours at 43,000 feet at 0.92 mach speed (or 0.92 per cent of the speed of sound). This was well beyond what the aircraft had been flight tested for. If the calculations were wrong or if a malfunction resulted in higher fuel consumption, the Mirage would have been in trouble. Explaining the feat, an expert said the single engine, single pilot Mirage jet undertook the transoceanic flight with no alternative airfields to land (in case of an emergency), travelling alone in a radar-less airspace with no direct radio contact with ground control and with bad weather which would have prevented any search and rescue operation over the ocean in case of an ejection. Along the way things were not smooth for Jaspreet. One of its radio sets failed, the fuel gauges gave incorrect indications and the oxygen almost finished in the cockpit. Yet the Mirage landed safely at Thiruvananthapuram at 2.50 pm. The next day, Jaspreet flew the Mirage to Hindustan Aeronautics Limited airfield in Bengaluru where it was fully repaired and returned to operational service almost four months later. Jaspreet was conferred the 'Vayu Sena' (Gallantry) medal by the President of India for his sincerity, exceptional courage and professionalism beyond the call of duty. "The ferry of Mirage-2000 across a stretch of 2126 nautical miles was one of the most challenging, daring and risky peacetime operations ever undertaken by a fighter aircraft in the history of the IAF," Singh's citation reads. Documenting the mission, an internal note of the IAF said: "Given the situation, not too many air forces in the world would have been bold enough to attempt this ferry. The IAF needs to be proud of this mission and the professionalism and courage shown by its personnel." PTI MPB VJ DV DV
New Indian Express
7 days ago
- General
- New Indian Express
British F-35's recovery puts spotlight on daring ferry of stranded IAF Mirage from Mauritius
NEW DELHI: The evacuation of a stranded British F-35B jet from Thiruvananthapuram on Tuesday rekindled memories of a similar problem the Indian Air Force faced two decades ago - one of its Mirage-2000 jets was badly damaged and stuck in Mauritius for 22 days before a risky and audacious operation succeeded in flying it back to India. Incidentally, it also landed in Thiruvananthapuram. The little known mission to bring back the plane will go down in India's aviation history as one of the most celebrated demonstrations of piloting skills, courage and technical ingenuity of IAF engineers who made the aircraft airworthy in a short time after it had suffered extensive damage because of a belly landing in Mauritius. It also put the spotlight on the grit and planning skill of the pilot, Sqn Ldr Jaspreet Singh, who braved dangerous weather and conducted three mid-air refuellings to bring back the repaired Mirage. He flew non-stop for five hours and 10 minutes on October 26, 2004 over the desolate Indian Ocean, where any malfunction en route would have meant almost certain disaster. "I remember that day as clearly as if it was yesterday," Jaspreet, who took retirement from the IAF in 2018, told PTI. "I was confident of undertaking this risky flight across the ocean as I had full faith in the team of exceptional technical personnel who had worked non-stop over two weeks to repair the aircraft," he said. "Military aviation is all about taking calculated risks when the mission demands, preparing for all possible contingencies and having your backup plans in place," he said. The French-built Mirage-2000 had crash-landed on October 4 at the Sir Seewoosagur-Ramgoolam International Airport in Port Louis after taking part in an air show. The belly landing had damaged the aircraft extensively, especially the underbelly auxiliary fuel tanks, the airframe, avionics and cockpit instrumentation.
Time of India
7 days ago
- General
- Time of India
British F-35's recovery puts spotlight on daring ferry of stranded IAF Mirage from Mauritius
The evacuation of a stranded British F-35B jet from Thiruvananthapuram on Tuesday rekindled memories of a similar problem the Indian Air Force faced two decades ago - one of its Mirage-2000 jets was badly damaged and stuck in Mauritius for 22 days before a risky and audacious operation succeeded in flying it back to India. Incidentally, it also landed in Thiruvananthapuram. Explore courses from Top Institutes in Please select course: Select a Course Category healthcare Public Policy others Operations Management Management Data Analytics Artificial Intelligence Product Management Cybersecurity Degree Technology Data Science MBA Design Thinking PGDM Healthcare MCA Project Management Data Science Leadership CXO Digital Marketing Finance Others Skills you'll gain: Duration: 11 Months IIM Lucknow CERT-IIML Healthcare Management India Starts on undefined Get Details The little known mission to bring back the plane will go down in India's aviation history as one of the most celebrated demonstrations of piloting skills, courage and technical ingenuity of IAF engineers who made the aircraft airworthy in a short time after it had suffered extensive damage because of a belly landing in Mauritius. It also put the spotlight on the grit and planning skill of the pilot, Sqn Ldr Jaspreet Singh, who braved dangerous weather and conducted three mid-air refuellings to bring back the repaired Mirage . He flew non-stop for five hours and 10 minutes on October 26, 2004 over the desolate Indian Ocean, where any malfunction en route would have meant almost certain disaster. "I remember that day as clearly as if it was yesterday," Jaspreet, who took retirement from the IAF in 2018, told PTI. Live Events "I was confident of undertaking this risky flight across the ocean as I had full faith in the team of exceptional technical personnel who had worked non-stop over two weeks to repair the aircraft," he said. "Military aviation is all about taking calculated risks when the mission demands, preparing for all possible contingencies and having your backup plans in place," he said. The French-built Mirage-2000 had crash-landed on October 4 at the Sir Seewoosagur-Ramgoolam International Airport in Port Louis after taking part in an air show. The belly landing had damaged the aircraft extensively, especially the underbelly auxiliary fuel tanks, the airframe, avionics and cockpit instrumentation. On the other hand, the USD 110 million F-35B jet suffered a technical snag while on a maritime exercise in the Indian Ocean and had to make an emergency landing at the Thiruvananthapuram international airport on June 14. The jet was part of the HMS Prince of Wales Carrier Strike Group of the British Royal Navy . A team of British engineers was flown in to fix the stealth fighter jet, and it finally took off for Darwin , Australia on Tuesday morning after almost 37 days. Similarly, a group of engineers, pilots and one IL-76 transport aircraft with spares and one IL-78 refuelling tanker aircraft flew from India to Port Louis, Mauritius to fix the Mirage and help bring it back. The rectification team made the aircraft ready for ground runs by October 13 and the Mirage did its first test flight on October 14, just 10 days after the landing accident. The team was faced with a task that had no precedence, given that Mirage-2000 is not cleared by the manufacturer Dassault to do a no-wheels landing, even in an emergency. Recalling the mission, an IAF officer said that Jaspreet, then posted with a fighter squadron in the Central sector, was specially chosen as the pilot to fly the aircraft back to India. The ferry route is over one of the most desolate stretches of the Indian Ocean and even for a fully serviceable single engine fighter it is considered a highly challenging task, said the officer. The fact that the ferry would also involve multiple air to air refuelling added to the overall degree of difficulty, he said. Once the aircraft had been repaired, Jaspreet carried out one taxi test and three air test sorties between October 12 and 19, during which multiple problems were revealed related to its fly-by-wire system, rudder, data display screen, throttle , brakes and fuel gauges. The 2126 nautical mile (nearly 4000 kilometer) flight to India was initially planned for October 20, but severe weather in the second half of the route, ruled out air-to-air refueling. "The inclement weather ensured that one Mirage 2000, one IL-78, one IL-76, and more than 50 IAF personnel were now stranded with the possibility that the wait could go on for weeks," said Jaspreet. However, on the morning of October 25, satellite pictures revealed that the first 1000 nautical miles (NM) of the flight route from Mauritius to TVM was clear, allowing three air to air refuelling. With the window of opportunity closing, Air Headquarters signed off for the ferry flight to take off on October 26, 2004. Jaspreet and the fighter took off at 7.55 am from a wet runway with very little fuel so as not to over stress the airframe. He entered the clouds almost immediately. But he had to ensure the first refuelling 11 minutes after take-off. There was zero margin for error. None was made. The Mirage refuelled in time and climbed safely to 25,000 feet. A second refuelling was also done successfully. Since refuelling was not possible in the final leg because of bad weather, the team came up with a plan: Jaspreet would top up fuel from the IL-78 while still 1100 NM short of Thiruvananthapuram and climb to a level above 40,000 feet to fly unaided the rest of the way. Flying at a higher altitude and optimum speed, the Mirage would consume less fuel. But it also meant flying the last 2 hours at 43,000 feet at 0.92 mach speed (or 0.92 per cent of the speed of sound). This was well beyond what the aircraft had been flight tested for. If the calculations were wrong or if a malfunction resulted in higher fuel consumption, the Mirage would have been in trouble. Explaining the feat, an expert said the single engine, single pilot Mirage jet undertook the transoceanic flight with no alternative airfields to land (in case of an emergency), travelling alone in a radar-less airspace with no direct radio contact with ground control and with bad weather which would have prevented any search and rescue operation over the ocean in case of an ejection. Along the way things were not smooth for Jaspreet. One of its radio sets failed, the fuel gauges gave incorrect indications and the oxygen almost finished in the cockpit. Yet the Mirage landed safely at Thiruvananthapuram at 2.50 pm. The next day, Jaspreet flew the Mirage to Hindustan Aeronautics Limited airfield in Bengaluru where it was fully repaired and returned to operational service almost four months later. Jaspreet was conferred the 'Vayu Sena' (Gallantry) medal by the President of India for his sincerity, exceptional courage and professionalism beyond the call of duty. "The ferry of Mirage-2000 across a stretch of 2126 nautical miles was one of the most challenging, daring and risky peacetime operations ever undertaken by a fighter aircraft in the history of the IAF," Singh's citation reads. Documenting the mission, an internal note of the IAF said: "Given the situation, not too many air forces in the world would have been bold enough to attempt this ferry. The IAF needs to be proud of this mission and the professionalism and courage shown by its personnel."
