Four Israeli airmen, led by future squadron leader Dror Ben-David, travelled to the US in 1997 for the F-15E conversion course, and the first two aircraft landed in Hatzerim on January 19, 1998. 16 aircraft had arrived by January 1, 1999, when the squadron was declared operational, and 10 days later the unit carried out it first operational sorties over southern Lebanon. Deliveries were completed in June 2000, by which time the squadron had taken part in operations in support of the May 2000 Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon.