The IDF has inducted 20 haredi air force technicians at Tel Nof after a two-month training course in Haifa; they will serve on F-15s in the 106th Squadron. This is the first religious unit stationed at the base and is part of efforts to integrate ultra-Orthodox recruits while accommodating their lifestyle. The move comes amid a deepening manpower crisis, with reserves frequently mobilized and some soldiers facing 80–100 days a year of duty. Senior military and political figures say universal mandatory service is needed to close the personnel gap.
First Haredi Unit Joins Tel Nof: 20 Technicians To Service F-15s As IDF Warns Of Deepening Manpower Crisis
First Haredi unit at Tel Nof Airforce base (photo credit: IDF SPOKESPERSON UNIT)
Twenty haredi (ultra-Orthodox) air force technicians were inducted last week at Tel Nof Air Base, the Israel Defense Forces announced. The recruits completed a two-month technician training course in Haifa and have been assigned to work on F-15 fighter jets in the 106th Squadron — marking the first religious unit to be stationed at Tel Nof.
Details Of The Induction
The IDF said the integration program is designed to enable haredim to preserve aspects of their lifestyle while fulfilling mandatory military duties. Officials described the move as part of broader efforts to expand recruitment pathways for communities that have historically been exempt or underrepresented in service.
HAREDI MEN protest against the jailing of yeshiva students who failed to comply with an IDF draft order, in May 2026. (credit: Tsafrir Abayov/Flash90)
Context: A Growing Manpower Shortfall
The induction comes amid a mounting manpower crisis within the IDF. Military leaders warn that unless legislation to broaden mandatory service is advanced — independently of the contested haredi draft bill — the shortfall of available personnel will deepen. The IDF says a widening gap is forming between wartime operational needs and the number of soldiers available to meet them.
Commanders note the force is already stretched across multiple fronts while coping with heavy casualties, frequent mobilization of reserves and rising attrition among both regular and reserve troops. Many reservists who previously served limited stints have been repeatedly called up since the war began; some combat soldiers now face annual reserve burdens of roughly 80 to 100 days.
Lt.-Gen. Eyal Zamir warned in March that the IDF risks collapse without a solution to the manpower shortfall, raising what he described as "ten red flags." Former IDF chief of staff Gadi Eisenkot (leader of Yashar) called universal mandatory service a "moral imperative" that would restore Israel's course and safeguard national security.
Reservist Party leader Yoaz Hendel also urged action: "Victory requires soldiers. The government repeatedly uses reservists as a resource and wears them down to the limit," he said, accusing officials of continuing to fund institutions that encourage draft evasion and of failing to enforce existing law.
The induction of these 20 technicians is a symbolic step toward broader integration, but military and political leaders say it will take wider legislative and policy changes to resolve the IDF's long-term manpower challenges.
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