Six-Day War

=== Initial attack ===
{{Main|Operation Focus}}
{{See also|Order of battle for the Six-Day War}}
[[File:6dayswar1.jpg|thumb|Israeli troops examine destroyed Egyptian aircraft]]
[[File:Hatzerim Mirage 20100129 1.jpg|thumb|Dassault Mirage at the [[Israeli Air Force Museum]]. Operation Focus was mainly conducted using French built aircraft.]]

The first and most critical move of the conflict was a surprise Israeli attack on the [[Egyptian Air Force]]. Initially, both Egypt and Israel announced that they had been attacked by the other country.<ref name=Quigley2005p163/>

On 5 June at 7:45 Israeli time, with [[Civil defense siren|civil defence sirens]] sounding all over Israel, the IAF launched Operation Focus (''Moked''). All but 12 of its nearly 200 operational jets{{Sfnp|Oren|2002|p=172}} launched a mass attack against Egypt's [[Aerodrome|airfields]].<ref>{{harvp|Bowen|2003|p=99}} (author interview with Moredechai Hod, 7 May 2002).</ref> The Egyptian defensive infrastructure was extremely poor, and no airfields were yet equipped with [[hardened aircraft shelter]]s capable of protecting Egypt's warplanes. Most of the Israeli warplanes headed out over the [[Mediterranean Sea]], flying low to avoid radar detection, before turning toward Egypt. Others flew over the [[Red Sea]].{{Sfnp|Oren|2002e|loc=Section "The War: Day One, June 5"}}

Meanwhile, the Egyptians hindered their own defence by effectively shutting down their entire air defence system: they were worried that rebel Egyptian forces would shoot down the plane carrying Field Marshal [[Abdel Hakim Amer]] and Lt-Gen. Sidqi Mahmoud, who were en route from al Maza to Bir Tamada in the [[Sinai Peninsula|Sinai]] to meet the commanders of the troops stationed there. In any event, it did not make a great deal of difference as the Israeli pilots came in below Egyptian [[radar]] cover and well below the lowest point at which its [[S-75 Dvina|SA-2]] surface-to-air missile batteries could bring down an aircraft.<ref>{{harvp|Bowen|2003|pp=114–115}} (author interview with General Salahadeen Hadidi who presided over the first [[court-martial]] of the heads of the air force and the air defence system after the war).</ref>

Although the powerful Jordanian radar facility at [[Ajloun]] detected waves of aircraft approaching Egypt and reported the code word for "war" up the Egyptian command chain, Egyptian command and communications problems prevented the warning from reaching the targeted airfields.{{Sfnp|Oren|2002e|loc=Section "The War: Day One, June 5"}} The Israelis employed a mixed-attack strategy: bombing and [[strafing]] runs against planes parked on the ground, and bombing to disable runways with special [[tarmac-shredding penetration bomb]]s developed jointly with France, leaving surviving aircraft unable to take off.{{Sfnp|Oren|2002|p=[https://archive.org/details/sixdaysofwarjune0000oren/page/171 171]}}

The runway at the [[Arish]] airfield was spared, as the Israelis expected to turn it into a military airport for their transports after the war. Surviving aircraft were taken out by later attack waves. The operation was more successful than expected, catching the Egyptians by surprise and destroying virtually all of the Egyptian Air Force on the ground, with few Israeli losses. Only four unarmed Egyptian training flights were in the air when the strike began.{{Sfnp|Oren|2002|p=[https://archive.org/details/sixdaysofwarjune0000oren/page/171 171]}} A total of 338 Egyptian aircraft were destroyed and 100 pilots were killed,{{Sfnp|Pollack|2005|p=474}} although the number of aircraft lost by the Egyptians is disputed.<ref>{{harvp|Oren|2002|p=176}}, says 282 out of 420. {{harvp|Morris|2001|p=318}}, says 304 out of 419. {{harvp|Tessler|1994|p=396}}, says over 350 planes were destroyed.</ref>

Among the Egyptian planes lost were all 30 [[Tu-16]] bombers, 27 out of 40 [[Ilyushin Il-28|Il-28]] bombers, 12 [[Su-7]] fighter-bombers, over 90 [[MiG-21]]s, 20 [[MiG-19]]s, 25 [[MiG-17]] fighters, and around 32 assorted transport planes and helicopters. In addition, Egyptian radars and SAM missiles were also attacked and destroyed. The Israelis lost 19 planes, including two destroyed in air-to-air combat and 13 downed by anti-aircraft artillery.{{Sfnp|Long|1984|p=19, Table 1}} One Israeli plane, which was damaged and unable to break radio silence, was shot down by Israeli [[MIM-23 Hawk|Hawk missiles]] after it strayed over the [[Negev Nuclear Research Center]].{{Sfnp|Oren|2002|p=178}} Another was destroyed by an exploding Egyptian bomber.{{Sfnp|Oren|2002|p=175}}

The attack guaranteed Israeli [[air supremacy]] for the rest of the war. Attacks on other Arab air forces by Israel took place later in the day as hostilities broke out on other fronts.

The large numbers of Arab aircraft claimed destroyed by Israel on that day were at first regarded as "greatly exaggerated" by the Western press. However, the fact that the Egyptian Air Force, along with other Arab air forces attacked by Israel, made practically no appearance for the remaining days of the conflict proved that the numbers were most likely authentic. Throughout the war, Israeli aircraft continued strafing Arab airfield runways to prevent their return to usability. Meanwhile, Egyptian state-run radio had reported an Egyptian victory, falsely claiming that 70 Israeli planes had been downed on the first day of fighting.<ref name=npr />