Air Force chief says IAF was at full ‘operational competency’ ahead of Oct. 7

The chief of the Israeli Air Force, Maj. Gen. Tomer Bar, says the IAF was at full “operational competency” ahead of the October 7 onslaught, despite it occurring amid protests by reservist pilots over the government’s planned judicial overhaul.

“Recently, various statements have been made regarding the competency of the [IAF] on October 7. I would like to say clearly, the Air Force entered the events of that accursed Sabbath, without an issue of operational competence,” Bar says during a graduation ceremony for air traffic control officers, at the Ovda Airbase.

“We took off for this difficult multi-front war united and consolidated, despite the protest, and since then we have not landed,” he says. “We will not land until the mission is completed, until all our enemies are defeated.”

Bar also says that in the coming weeks, the IAF will complete an investigation into its role during the October 7 onslaught, and present it within the military and later to the public “with transparency.”

On the probe presented last week into the battle at Kibbutz Be’eri, which was critical of actions taken by the IAF’s elite Shaldag unit, Bar says “as their commander, I have supported and will support the actions that were taken on the ground on the morning of October 7.”

“The culture of investigation is deeply rooted in the Air Force’s DNA. That way we will be better, more worthy for the citizens we swore to protect,” he adds.