Aluf (ret.) Herzl Bodinger (Hebrew: הרצל בודינגר; born 1943) is a retired general in the Israel Defense Forces, he served as the former Commander in Chief of the Israeli Air Force and currently serves as a member of the International Board of Governors for Ariel University.[1]

Herzl Bodinger
Maj. Gen. Herzl Bodinger
Born1943
AllegianceIsrael Israel
Service/branch Israeli Air Force
Years of service1961–1996
RankAluf

Military career edit

Bodinger was born in Israel and joined the IDF in 1961. He volunteered to attend the flight academy and graduated as a fighter pilot, flying the Dassault Mystère and Sud Aviation Vautour.

During the Six-Day War, Bodinger served as a Vautour pilot and participated in Operation Moked, attacking airfields in Iraq and Egypt and destroying ten Tupolev Tu-16 bombers on the ground. During the Yom Kippur War, he was a Mirage III pilot, and shot down a Syrian MiG-17. During post-war conflicts, he shot down a Syrian MiG-21 over Lebanon.[2]

Bodinger went on to command the Israeli Air Force from January 1992 to July 1996.[2] During his 35-year career, Bodinger accumulated about 6,000 flight hour and conducted 451 aerial sorties.[3]

Civilian career edit

Following his retirement from the air force, Bodinger was appointed to head RADA Electronic Industries.[2] In the 2000s, he headed a committee appointed by Transportation Minister Shaul Mofaz to prepare a plan for Israel's airports.[4]

References edit

  1. ^ Meet Major General Herzle Bodinger - Chairman of RADA Electronics
  2. ^ a b c "Herzl Bodinger" (in Hebrew). Israeli Air Force. Retrieved 2010-05-05.
  3. ^ Marom, Dror (May 5, 1997). "Former Air Force Commander, Herzl Bodinger, to Manage Rada-USA". Globes. Archived from the original on March 20, 2012. Retrieved 2010-05-05.
  4. ^ "Meeting between Council Heads and Herzl Bodinger About the Creation of a Complementary Airport to Ben Gurion in Megiddo" (in Hebrew). Megiddo Regional Council. April 26, 2009. Archived from the original on July 21, 2011. Retrieved 2010-05-05.