Scout_51 0 Posted February 11, 2005 ran across thgis over at drudge,does anyone have more info?? was it f-16s or f-15 s?.... Israel downed 2 Syrian MiGs last September over sea SPECIAL TO WORLD TRIBUNE.COM Friday, February 11, 2005 Diplomatic sources said Israel Air Force F-16 multi-role fighters intercepted and downed two Syrian MiG-29 fighter-jets last year. The sources said the dogfight took place in September 2004 over the eastern Mediterranean Sea. This was the first engagement between Israeli and Syrian fighter-jets since the 1980s. The sources said the air battle took place when Israel Air Force fighter-jets buzzed the Syrian city of Latakia, a port used by Iran for the shipment of weapons to Hizbullah. The Washington-based Reform Party of Syria first provided details of the Israeli-Syrian dogfight. RPS said the air battle took place on Sept. 14, 2004, adding that both downed pilots were rescued by Syrian military helicopters, Middle East Newsline reported. RPS, quoting a European source, said the Israeli fighter-jets used an Israeli-origin Python-4 air-to-air missile to down one of the MiG-29s. The other Syrian MiG-29 was shot down by a U.S.-origin AIM-9M Sidewinder. The pilots of the MiG-29s were identified by RPS as Maj. Arshad Midhat Mubarak and Capt. Ahmad Al Khatib. Diplomatic sources said the Syrian losses led President Bashar Assad to accelerate efforts to procure advanced anti-aircraft systems from Russia. Syria has requested a range of anti-aircraft systems, including the SA-18, TOR-M1, S-300PMU2 and the S-400 systems. The most likely Russian sale to Damascus is that of the SA-18, the sources said. They said Russia would supply the first SA-18 short-range systems – either directly or through a third country – within several months. In January, Russia and Syria – overriding objections from Israel and the United States – agreed on the sale of the SA-18 to Damascus. Russian officials said the sale of the SA-18 would not violate any international arms agreement. "Russia has cooperated with Syria for decades, and my country is convinced that Syria has a strong right to get defensive weapons," Russian ambassador in Tunisia Aleksei Tserub said. sounds as if syria is getting ready to be the next terrorist backer on the hit parade..wonder how long it would take the idf to thunder into damascus.... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Nesher 628 Posted February 11, 2005 don't think IAF didn't thunder before Israeli Jets from time to time buzzz near the palace of Bashar Assad Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Scout_51 0 Posted February 11, 2005 don't think IAF didn't thunder beforeIsraeli Jets from time to time buzzz near the palace of Bashar Assad <{POST_SNAPBACK}> I did Not say the IAf had not thundered before,we All KNOW it did and has and will,I was however refering to the IDF and its tank colum about 90kms from damascus..I think it was in the 73 war.. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Nesher 628 Posted February 13, 2005 The other MiG-29 banked hard right, apparently heading back to Syria, but it was too late, as the second F-15 was already too close: the pilot launched a single AIM-9M Sidewinder from a range of only 500 meters. The missile slammed into the target, crashing it into the sea. Both Syrian pilots, Maj. Arshad Midhat Mubarak, and Capt. Ahmad al-Khatab, ejected safely and were recovered by Syrian ships. The names of the involved Israeli F-15-pilots remain unknown. http://www.acig.org/artman/publish/article_437.shtml Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
