Case Studies in the Achievement of Air Superiority - Air Force ...

AIR SUPERIORITY
of “dead” airspace, the Israelis “could plan and work like a pharmacy [laboratory?].
Very clean. . . and conclusions should not be drawn from what
was done there to a massive battlefield defended area. It’s a different
story. . . . ‘‘I4’
The Syrian Air Force rose to try and protect the missile batteries as
the Israeli attack developed. “The Israelis, in U.S.-built F-15s, F-l6s,
Phantoms and Skyhawks confronted Syrian pilots in Russian-made
MiG-2ls, MiG-23s and MiG-25s and Sukhoi 7s. So many planes-up to
two hundred of them-were criss-crossing the sky above the Bekaa that
the Syrian antiaircraft gunners had to hold their fire for fear of hitting their
own planes,” reports Laffin. Despite the density of aircraft that made Syrian
gunners “hold their fire,” Laffin thought that “many” Syrian machines
were hit by Sidewinder missiles that were “not standard U.S. issue,” but
had been “adapted and improved in the light of experience gained. . . over
Lebanon since 1976.”148
The Israelis claimed twenty-three MiG-2 1 s and -23s, out of “about one
hundred. . . which swooped into the area, wave after ~ave.”l4~ Another
anonymous pilot, quoted in the ZDF Journal, recalled that:
we were in the air at the climax of the large-scale attack on the missile batteries; the
air was filled with tension, due to the large number of enemy aircraft flying about
the area. We waited until we achieved positive identification of target while simultaneously
approaching two enemy aircraft, painted brown and light yellow. We gave
chase and when the aircraft reached a routine launch mode, I fired and was able to
see the hit; immediately 1 turned to go for the other aircraft but I was too slow. My
number two had already shot him down.150
The reference to “routine launch mode” makes it clear that the Israeli
used a missile, but since he could distinguish the colors of the enemy aircraft,
the range must have been relatively short. This time we are told nothing
at all about the types of aircraft involved on either side, though whether
through accident or design is hard to say.
On July 22 a combined air and ground assault on Syrian positions east
of Joub Jannin and Mansoura, in the upper Bekaa, tempted the Syrians into
another effort to establish an effective ground-based antiaircraft defense,
and three SA-8 antiaircraft missile launching vehicles were brought up
from Syria.Isl These were certainly the most sophisticated missile defenses
yet battle-tested. The SA-8 was a fully mobile system with acquisition and
tracking radars mounted on the launch vehicle, and it could engage more
than one target simultaneously. There were four or six launchers on each
vehicle. The missiles themselves were command-guided with semi-active
radar or infra-red homing, and a range of 7.5 miles. Jane’s Weapon Systems
in 1983 suggested the design was “probably optimized for high acceleration,
maximum speed and maneuverability rather than range.”ls2 However,
“these most modern and sophisticated products of the Soviet arsenal were
soon identified and destroyed by air attack on the afternoon of the 24th,”
according to Israeli authorities.Is3 Some SA-6 batteries were also involved,
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