Open skies

WATCH: IDF paratroopers, vets take Independence Day leap

Fathers of fighters in the iconic brigade also participate in aerial demonstrations off coasts of Tel Aviv, Haifa and Tiberias

By ToI Staff 19 April 2018, 10:11 pm
Paratroopers drop into the Mediterranean Sea during Independence Day celebrations marking 70 years since the founding of the state in 1948, in Tel Aviv, Israel, Thursday, April 19, 2018. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)

IDF paratroopers, together with their fathers and veterans of the iconic brigade, parachuted into waters off the coasts of Tel Aviv, Haifa and Tiberias on Thursday as part of Israel’s 70th Independence Day celebrations.

The soldiers jumped from transport aircraft known as “Shimshon,” the IDF’s name for the Lockheed Martin C-130J Super Hercules planes.

Some 100 took part in the jumps.

The Air Force also held its traditional cross-country flyover of military jets and helicopters, which for the second year included Israel’s fleet of F-35 jets, considered the most advanced plane in the world.

Hundreds of thousands of Israelis flocked to beaches and parks during the day, lighting grills, waving flags and craning their necks for a glimpse of Israel’s planes.

Israelis watch an air show during the festivities of the 70th Independence Day, on April 19, 2018 in the Mediterranean coastal city of Tel Aviv.(AFP PHOTO / Ahmad GHARABLI)

The IDF also opened its bases to the public, displaying jeeps, tanks and other equipment throughout the country.

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