On Wednesday, July 29, 2026, the Israeli Air Force (Heil HaAvir) press service announced that a ceremony marking the entry into service of Lockheed Martin/Sikorsky SH-60F Shalakh multirole helicopters (Shalakh meaning “osprey” in Hebrew) had been held at Palmachim Air Base in central Israel. The aircraft are former US Navy Seahawks acquired from surplus stocks.
Photos: Heil HaAvir
Nearly a year after the disbandment of 193 Squadron Maginei HaMa’arav (Hebrew for “Defenders of the West”) and following 30 years of operations from Ramat David Air Base in Israel’s Northern District, the unit has returned to service at a new location. The squadron was disbanded on September 1, 2025, following the retirement of its AS565 MA Atalef medium multirole helicopters, the local designation for the French Eurocopter AS565 Panther. Since then, Israel had been without a naval aviation capability.
According to Israeli media reports, the first three helicopters have been delivered, with another two expected to arrive in the country by the end of the year, out of a total of eight ordered from the United States, primarily to support the four German-built Sa’ar 6-class missile corvettes.
The decision to acquire the former US Navy helicopters from surplus stocks was made in 2015. They will be compatible with the H-60/S-70 Black Hawk family already in Israeli service, including 10 UH-60As received from US Army surplus stocks in August 1994 and newer UH-60Ls (S-70A-5s) delivered from August 2002, which received the local name Yanshuf (“owl”). The United States initially valued the helicopters at 300 million USD, but on July 6, 2016, decided to transfer them free of charge under the Excess Defense Articles (EDA) program following modernization. According to information released on December 11, 2021, deliveries were expected to begin in 2022, but were significantly delayed.
The SH-60F Shalakh helicopters will support the Israeli Navy (Ḥeil HaYam HaYisraeli), including operations from the aforementioned Sa’ar 6 corvettes, as well as the three older Sa’ar 4 vessels and five planned next-generation Reshef-class ships ordered from the domestic industry. They will also perform patrol, reconnaissance, and other maritime missions. The ceremonial reactivation of the naval aviation squadron forms part of a broader modernization program for Israel’s maritime component.
Air Force Commander Maj. Gen. Omer Tishler said:
„Today you are opening a new chapter in the squadron’s legacy, which for nearly forty years has embodied a unique partnership. The close bond between Missile Boat Flotilla 3 and Squadron 193, between the naval and air arms-from defending Israel’s western maritime frontier to conducting joint operations far beyond our borders-constitutes the IDF’s long-range, strategic, integrated arm. Throughout the four decades in which the squadron operated, you served deep from home and protected the strategic assets of the State of Israel.”
טייסת 193 (“מגיני המערב”) נפתחה מחדש אתמול (ג’) בטקס בבסיס פלמחים. הטייסת תפעיל את מסוק ה”שלך” (SH-60F) החדש, לביצוע משימות סיוע לחיל הים ולהרחבת המענה המבצעי במרחב הימי: https://t.co/ayCccpCnm3 pic.twitter.com/nAiWxK05ie
— Israeli Air Force (@IAFsite) July 29, 2026