A photo taken on Tuesday shows a flame in memory of Jewish Holocaust victims during a ceremony without participants due to the COVID-19 pandemic, marking the Holocaust Remembrance Day, at the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial in Jerusalem. Photo: AFP

Israeli and German fighter pilots on Tuesday carried out their first joint military exercises in Germany, honoring Holocaust victims and the 11 Israelis slain at the 1972 Munich Olympics.

A formation of aircraft, including Israeli Air Force F-16s and Eurofighter jets from the German Luftwaffe, launched the commemorations with an overfly of the Fuerstenfeldbruck airbase near Munich to mark the Olympic massacre.

They then carried out an aerial tribute above the former Nazi concentration camp at Dachau.

The flyovers kick off nearly two weeks of maneuvers that will see Israeli air forces train on German soil for the first time.

It is the only training mission the Israeli Air Force (IAF) is conducting abroad in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic. 

Luftwaffe chief Ingo Gerhartz called the joint exercise "a sign of our friendship today."

He said in a statement it was also a reminder that Germany has an enduring responsibility "to fight anti-Semitism with the utmost consistency" because of its Nazi past.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu posted a picture of the Dachau flyover on his Twitter page.

"The great lesson of the Holocaust is that no one will protect the Jews if they do not protect themselves. Today we defend ourselves," Netanyahu wrote.

The IAF said the training mission, which runs until August 28, will give its pilots a chance to practice in unfamiliar surroundings and will include simulated dogfights, air-to-ground battles and missile threats.

Israeli pilots will also take part in aerial maneuvers with Germany and other NATO members during the deployment.

Germany and Israel have stepped up military cooperation in recent years, with the Luftwaffe taking part in joint exercises in Israel's Negev desert in 2019.

AFP