{{pp|small=yes}} {{Infobox military unit | unit_name = Unit 555 | image = IAF Sky Crows unit.png | image_size = 200px | caption = Unit logo | native_name= יחידה 555 | dates = 1969 – present | garrison = Tel Nof Airbase | country = {{flag|Israel}} | branch = {{air force|Israel}} | type = electronic warfare unit | role = Electromagnetic Warfare EW<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.jpost.com/Magazine/Features/And-they-struck-them-with-blindness|title=And they struck them with blindness|website=The Jerusalem Post|date=2010-09-29|access-date=2023-09-25}}</ref> | size = | command_structure = {{air force|Israel}} | nickname = Sky Crows | motto = The most important is hidden from view | colors = | colors_label = | battles = | specialization = | aircraft_recon= Lockheed C-130 Hercules | aircraft_helicopter= Sikorsky CH-53 Sea Stallion | identification_symbol= 200px | identification_symbol_label = Shoulder Patch | notable_commanders= Lt.Col Rami Luz }}
'''Unit 555''',<ref>https://www.iaf.org.il/9327-52855-he/IAF.aspx</ref> also known as the '''Sky Crows''', is the airborne electronic warfare unit of the Israeli Air Force. It was established in 1969 at the Lod Airbase. Currently, it is headquartered at the Tel Nof Airbase. It is one of the most classified units in the Israeli Air Force.
== History == The unit was established in 1969 during the War of Attrition as a counter to the strengthening of Egyptian army air defense systems along the Suez Canal.<ref name=Drenger/> The unit was a combined force operating both aerial and ground assets.<ref name=Drenger>{{Cite web|author=Amit Drenger|title="Let's See, Let's Hear"|url=https://www.iaf.org.il/2058-27789-he/IAF.aspx|website=Israeli Air Force website|date=1 April 2008}}</ref>
On July 8, 1971, a Sikorsky CH-53 Sea Stallion modified for electronic warfare crashed in the Mediterranean Sea, near El Arish. All ten crew members including six members of the unit were killed in the incident.<ref name=academia>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nli.org.il/he/newspapers/mar/1971/07/11/01/article/29?&dliv=none&e=-------he-20--1--img-txIN%7ctxTI--------------1&utm_source=he.wikipedia.org&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=%22%D7%99%D7%97%D7%99%D7%93%D7%94+555%22&utm_content=itonut|author=Eli Landau|title=המסוק צלל לפתע לים וירד לתהום|publisher=Maariv|date=11 July 1971}}</ref>
On September 17, 1971, a Boeing 377 Stratocruiser electronic warfare plane was shot down east of the Suez Canal by two Egyptian SA-2 surface-to-air missiles. Seven crew members including two unit personnel perished {{ill|in the incident|ar|عملية 27 رجب}}.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://www.academia.edu/66942538/%D7%90%D7%A1%D7%95%D7%A0%D7%95%D7%AA_%D7%91%D7%97%D7%99%D7%9C_%D7%94%D7%90%D7%95%D7%95%D7%99%D7%A8_%D7%94%D7%99%D7%A9%D7%A8%D7%90%D7%9C%D7%99_1948_2021_Hebrew_DISASTERS_in_the_ISRAELI_AIR_FORCE_%D7%9E%D7%90%D7%AA_%D7%9E%D7%90%D7%99%D7%A8_%D7%94%D7%9C%D7%95%D7%99_%D7%92%D7%95%D7%91%D7%A8|author= Meir Halevi Gober|title=Founding Events in the Air Force 1948-2021|page=362|year=2022|publisher=Academia.edu}}</ref>
In the Yom Kippur War, the unit also operated modified versions of the Douglas DC-3 with specialized electronic warfare and reconnaissance equipment.<ref name=Drenger/> During the war, a Sikorsky CH-53 Sea Stallion modified for electronic warfare was shot down killing seven crew members including four unit personnel.<ref>Arnon Ben-Dror, [https://web.archive.org/web/20210715095359/https://sky-high.co.il/2020/12/31/%D7%94%D7%90%D7%99%D7%A9-%D7%A9%D7%A6%D7%A0%D7%97-%D7%9E%D7%99%D7%A1%D7%A2%D7%95%D7%A8/ האיש שצנח מיסעור] הפלת מסוק יסעור 31 עם צוות יחידת LA המוטסת</ref>
On April 19, 1974, two Sikorsky CH-53 Sea Stallion electronic warfare helicopters collided while landing at Rosh Pina Airport. Ten crew members including five unit personnel perished in the incident.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.iaf.org.il/4472-50120-he/IAF.aspx|author=Carmel Stern|title=יחידת "עורבי שמיים" זוכרת את אסון מחניים|website=Israeli Air Force|date=12 April 2018}}</ref>
The unit operated in the First Lebanon War under the command of Lt.Col Rami Luz.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.idf.il/media/5oepyn1t/ספר-מלחמת-שלג-לאתר-27-6-22.pdf|title=ספר "מלחמת שלום הגליל מפות ומבצעים" באתר מחלקת היסטוריה|language=he|website=Israel Defense Forces}}</ref>
The unit is known to have utilized the planes of the Naschon Squadron having specially modified them for electronic warfare missions.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.iaf.org.il/4968-33533-he/IAF.aspx|title=Naschon Squadron|website=Israeli Air Force}}</ref><ref name=GlobalSecurity>{{cite web|title=122 Squadron - The Dakota |url=http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/israel/122squadron.htm |publisher=Globalsecurity.org |accessdate=2008-12-14 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090118073024/http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/israel/122squadron.htm |archivedate=18 January 2009 |url-status=live |df= }}</ref>
The unit was initially stationed at the Lod Airbase but was moved to Tel Nof Airbase after the closure of Lod Airbase.<ref name=Drenger/>
The unit currently serves as an air support team and operates a wide variety of aircraft from various Israeli Air Force squadrons modifying them for electronic warfare. Commonly used aircraft include the Lockheed C-130 Hercules and the Sikorsky CH-53 Sea Stallions.<ref name=classified>{{Cite web|url=https://www.iaf.org.il/4450-46885-he/IAF.aspx|author=Vared Talala|title=הצצה ליחידה שבה הכל נעשה בסתר|website=Israeli Air Force|date=2 August 2016}}</ref>
This unit is one of the most classified units with very little information being released about the unit's operations.<ref name=classified/>
== Name and motto == The unit is nicknamed as the "sky crows" as the nickname was firstly used by the allied forces in World War II.
The motto of the unit is "The most important is hidden from view" and was taken from "The Little Prince".<ref name=academia/><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.iaf.org.il/4449-46852-he/IAF.aspx|author=Vared Talala|title="The most important is hidden from view"|website=Israeli Air Force|date=11 July 2016}}</ref>
== Equipment == thumb|Unit personnel along with equipment The unit's equipment is highly classified but is known to have been developed by the Defense industry of Israel.<ref name=classified/>
== Roles == The unit's main mission is to operate various airborne electronic warfare systems to help Israeli aircraft evade oppositional air defense systems as well as to destroy oppositional air defense systems in order to achieve air superiority.<ref name=classified/>
== Sources and references == {{Reflist}} == External links == * Shlomo Aloni, "555 ינשופי שמיים", Air Force Association, 2013 * Meir Halevi Gover, [https://www.academia.edu/66942538/אסונות_בחיל_האוויר_הישראלי_1948_2021_Hebrew_DISASTERS_in_the_ISRAELI_AIR_FORCE_מאת_מאיר_הלוי_גובר אירועים-מכוננים בחיל-האוויר 1948-2021], p. 344, 2022, on the Academia.edu * https://www.iaf.org.il/8411-44793-he/IAF.aspx * https://www.iaf.org.il/7186-41611-he/IAF.aspx * https://www.iaf.org.il/4343-28857-he/IAF.aspx * https://www.iaf.org.il/1740-26221-he/IAF.aspx * https://www.iaf.org.il/4446-46439-he/IAF.aspx * https://www.iaf.org.il/4422-45198-he/IAF.aspx * [https://www.fresh.co.il/vBulletin/showthread.php?t=524728 Sky Crows, טייסת ל"א בבסיס תל נוף]
Category:Israeli Air Force units Category:Special forces of Israel Category:Military units and formations established in 1969 Category:Electronic warfare