Operation Opera––An Inside Look into one of the Most Infamous IDF Operations

 On June 7, 1981 at 16:00, 14 fighter jets departed from Etzion Airport in Israel. At approximately 17:30, they struck and destroyed the Osirak nuclear reactor in Iraq, successfully completing their mission.

The pilots who took part in the operation, pictured above.

22 years before Operation Opera, Iraq––led by their dictator Saddam Hussein––began building a nuclear facility. In the 1970s, Iraq made a deal with France that promised Iraq two Nuclear facilities––the Tamuz 1 and 2. This was an immediate threat to Israel and it was clear that the nuclear facility had to be removed. 

 LTG Rafael Eitan––the IDF Chief of the General Staff at the time, ordered the IDF to start looking into different ways in which they could eliminate the Iraqi nuclear threat. 

The name of Operation Opera was chosen from a name bank. The operation was supposed to take place several times before it actually broke out. To ensure the operation’s secrecy, it was given different names each time. When the operation finally took place, the official name was set as Operation Opera.  

In the early stages of the operation, the IDF planned on using F-4 fighter jets. But as time went on, the newer F-16 fighter jets became available to use. During the operation, 8  F-16 fighter jets from squadrons 110 and 117 were used and 6 F-15A fighter jets were used for  backup. Aside from the fighter jets, there were approximately 60 other aircraft used in this operation. 

The aircraft took off from Israel in radio silence, with the radars switched off and flew along a 1100km path. They arrived and struck the Osirak nuclear reactor––with each fighter jet bombing the facility 5 seconds after the other. 

The nuclear facility moments before the strike (left), and during the strike (right).

Operation Opera was declared a success and all of the pilots arrived back in Israel safely. The operation helped prevent a dangerous, terrorist-backing government from obtaining weapons of mass destruction.