It took just over a day from the moment Maj. Y decided to return to Israel after seeing tensions with Iran escalate.
"I saw the reports in the media and realized that something big was about to happen. My gut feeling led me to buy a flight ticket."
Y, a reservist in Squadron 200, had been traveling abroad for several months when he began to suspect that an Israeli-US strike on Iran might be imminent.
"Once I arrived, I prepared and got ready, right in the hours before the opening flight. It was clear to me that I would be a significant part of the operation, that I would give my all to protect civilians and be as professional as I could," he said.
Since the IDF launched Operation Roaring Lion, Y, a 27-year-old from Tel Aviv, has been serving with his squadron. Its missions include gathering intelligence, conducting surveillance, escorting forces, and carrying out precision strikes.
The squadron operates Heron-1 UAVs, which can remain airborne for extended periods and provide real-time intelligence to ground forces day and night over long distances. Established in the 1970s as part of the Israeli Air Force’s UAV unit, the squadron has participated in numerous operations across a wide range of combat environments.
Over the years, UAVs have become a central component of the Air Force’s operational activity, accounting for a significant portion of its flight hours. Squadron 200 now operates from Hatzor Air Base and plays a key role in the Air Force’s intelligence and operational missions, integrating advanced technology with precise intelligence-gathering and strike capabilities.
During Operation Roaring Lion and Operation Rising Lion, the squadron played a major role in Israeli Air Force strike operations over Iranian territory, working alongside fighter jets and other Air Force units.
"Our main missions are to thwart and reduce missile launches toward the country, detect airborne threats to fighter jets and helicopters, protect them, and reduce and strike the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps' tools. We've prepared for this war for a long time, and since Operation Rising Lion, we have also improved our capabilities," said Y, a UAV operator.
"We've had great success. There has been a significant reduction in the number of launches and a tremendous sense of pride in the success," he said.
Air Force enters Iran war with lessons learned from previous operation
The Air Force entered Operation Roaring Lion, drawing on lessons learned during Operation Rising Lion.
"In Operation Rising Lion, we faced the enemy for the first time. We didn’t know its capabilities, encountered complexities, and grappled with the mission for the first time. We encountered launchers we had learned about but had never faced before. During and after the operation, we conducted debriefings and understood what to do next time to be better prepared. We worked hard in the last few months, set ambitious goals, were creative, and succeeded in improving the squadron’s capabilities in the field," he said.
"Compared to the previous operation, the Revolutionary Guard Corps is experiencing the Air Force at higher intensity. We’re reaching many places they didn’t expect us to be, and in greater numbers, and they feel it.
"This is a collective effort, and every day you can see the reduction in missile launches. It’s the hard work of our people who search for launchers behind every hill and alley and demonstrate impressive capabilities in finding them," Y added.
Despite the squadron’s success, Y said there is still a sense of frustration when missiles manage to strike civilian areas.
"The day the missile fell in Beit Shemesh, I saw the alerts and felt a sense of disappointment. I kept thinking about what we could do differently to stop this next time and find the launchers.
"War is complex. On the one hand, when you succeed in the mission and reach launchers that were just waiting for the order to fire, and strike them before they reach here, there is no greater pride than knowing you saved civilians in the country.
"On the other hand, there are difficult events like the one in Beit Shemesh. In the end, we just want to be better, and the Air Force is constantly working within itself in order to improve."