Question: Colonel Giora "Hawkeye" Epstein, is a retired colonel in the Israeli Air Force (IAF), it operates as the aerial warfare branch of the Israel Defense Forces, founded on which date?
Context: The 69 "Hammers" Squadron is an Israeli Air Force squadron operating the F-15I Thunder out of Hatzerim.  It was formed in July 1948 to operate three B-17 Flying Fortresses which the fledgling Israeli Air Force had acquired in the United States.  The squadron flew the Flying Fortress, a type credited with propelling the IAF into the realm of modern aerial warfare, during both the 1948 Arab-Israeli War and 1956 Suez Crisis.  Disbanded in early 1957, 69 Squadron reformed in 1969 to fly the F-4 Phantom II.  69 Squadron operated the "Kurnass" (Sledgehammer), as the Phantom was known in Israel, for 25 years and its Phantoms saw extensive action during the War of Attrition, Yom Kippur War, First Lebanon War and numerous engagements in between.  The squadron often played a central role in IAF suppression of enemy air defences (SEAD) efforts and took part in repeated battles against Egyptian and Syrian air defence arrays. Giora Romm (Hebrew: גיורא רום‎ ‎ , born 1945) is a former deputy commander of the Israeli Air Force (IAF), Israel's former military attaché in the United States and the current director of the Civil Aviation Authority of Israel.  Romm was the Israeli Air Force's first jet ace, scoring five kills during the 1967 Six Day War.  In 1969, during the War of Attrition, Romm was shot down and spent several months in Egyptian captivity.  He commanded the IAF's 115 Squadron through the intensive fighting of the 1973 Yom Kippur War and participated in Operation Wooden Leg, the 1985 raid against PLO headquarters in Tunisia. Aluf Eitan Ben Eliyahu (born 1944) is a retired Major General in the Israel Defense Forces and was the Commander of the Israeli Air Force (IAF). The EL/M-2080 Green Pine (Hebrew: אורן ירוק‎ ‎ , ] ) is an Israeli ground-based missile-defense radar produced by Elta, a subsidiary of Israel Aerospace Industries, to operate mainly with the Arrow theater missile defense system of Israel, which is jointly funded and produced with the United States.  Green Pine was exported to India, and its advanced version, the Super Green Pine, is also to be delivered to South Korea at a cost of $83 million apiece, and to Azerbaijan.  The Israeli Air Defense Command within the Israeli Air Force (IAF) of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) operates both Green Pine radars and Super Green Pine radars as an integral part of the Arrow system. The Israeli Air Defense Command (in Hebrew: מערך ההגנה האווירית) is the Israel Defense Forces unit responsible for the surface front of Israel's air defense, complementing the air defense provided by Israeli Air Force squadrons.  Initially a part of the IDF Artillery Corps, since 1970 the Air Defense Command has been subordinate to the Israeli Air Force. Friends of the Israel Defense Forces (FIDF) (in Hebrew ארגון ידידי צה״ל בארה״ב) is an organization established in 1981 dedicated to the men and women serving in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), wounded veterans, and the families of fallen soldiers.  Headquartered in New York City, Friends of the Israel Defense Forces is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that operates fifteen regional offices in the United States and Panama.  Friends of the Israel Defense Forces initiates and supports educational, social, cultural and recreational programs and facilities in an effort to ease the burden that the Israel Defense Forces' soldiers and their families carry on behalf of the Jewish community worldwide. The 16 October 1973 raid on Egyptian missile bases was an Israeli raid that took place during the Yom Kippur War.  Conducted by the Israel Defense Forces' 421st brigade, its goal was the creation of a corridor in the dense Egyptian air defense array, thus allowing Israeli Air Force activity in the vicinity of the Suez Canal.  Egyptian military forces were significantly weakened in the operation due the destruction of several tanks and three missile bases.  According to Israeli claims Israeli forces did not sustain any losses in personnel or equipment. Dan "Danny" Halutz (Hebrew: דן חלוץ‎ ‎ ,    ; born August 7, 1948) is an Israeli Air Force Lt. General and former Chief of Staff of the Israel Defense Forces and commander of the Israeli Air Force.  Halutz was appointed as Chief of Staff on June 1, 2005.  On January 17, 2007, he announced his resignation.  He has a degree in economics.  He was born to a Mizrahi Jewish family with origins in Iran and Iraq.  He is chairman of the Etgarim special-needs charity. The Israeli Air Force (IAF; Hebrew: זְרוֹעַ הָאֲוִיר וְהֶחָלָל‎ , "Zroa HaAvir VeHahalal", "Air and Space Arm", commonly known as , "Kheil HaAvir", "Air Corps") operates as the aerial warfare branch of the Israel Defense Forces.  It was founded on May 28, 1948, shortly after the Israeli Declaration of Independence.  As of August 2017 Aluf Amikam Norkin serves as the Air Force Commander. Colonel Giora "Hawkeye" Epstein (Hebrew: גיורא אפשטיין‎ ‎ , born 1938), today Giora Even (Hebrew: גיורא אבן‎ ‎ ), is a retired colonel in the Israeli Air Force (IAF) and a fighter ace credited with 17 victories, 16 against Egyptian jets, making Epstein the ace of aces of supersonic fighter jets and of the Israeli Air Force.
Answer: May 28, 1948