Haaretz Daily Newspaper | Israel News: Israel could strike Iran's nuclear facilities, but it won't be easy

Israeli F-15I

This is the Haaretz take on the New York times article that indicates an Israeli attack on Iranian nuclear facilities would be difficult. The Israeli version of the F-15E fighter-bomber is the F-15I. Israel has 25 of these jets that are capable of delivering the 5,000 lb. GBU-28.

The Guided Bomb Unit 28 (GBU-28) is a 5000-pound (2268 kg) laser-guided "bunker busting" bomb nicknamed "Deep Throat."

The Israeli Air Force could launch missiles to attack Iran, but Iran would certainly retaliate with its own missiles. The  Harretz article suggests that an Israeli attack would go on for hours. A lengthy attack would increase Israeli fatalities and also lose the element of surprise. 

The big Israeli delimiters are shortfalls in fighter-bombers and a limited aerail refuleing capability. 

Israel has many fighter aircraft, but the not the right mix of fighter bombers and refuelers that could ensure a successful outcome. 

The attack would undoubtedly kick of another regional middle eastern war that Israel started. 

Haaretz also stated 

. . .(T)he consensus is that while it would certainly would be a complex and difficult operation, it is well within the IAF's capabilities.

"The New York Times quotes military experts who claim that Israel will have to use at least a hundred warplanes in an Iranian operation, this probably a conservative estimate as in addition the main nuclear-enrichment installations, Israel will most likely seek also to take out research centers and long-range missile bases and factories. In addition, there will have to be strikes on anti-aircraft missile batteries and radar sites.

But this is exactly the mission the IAF has been equipping for over the last fifteen years. Between 1996 and 2009, Israel purchased, largely with U.S. Foreign Military financing, 125 advanced F-15s and F-16s, specially modified for carrying out long-range strategic attacks. In addition to these five front-line squadrons, the IAF fields another nine squadrons of older-model F-16s and F-15s. In all, Israel has around 350 fighter jets, a larger aerial combat force than countries of the likes of Britain and Germany."

source: Israel could strike Iran's nuclear facilities, but it won't be easy - Haaretz Daily Newspaper | Israel News

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RIA Novosti: India gets its first homegrown fighter jet

NEW DELHI, January 10 (RIA Novosti) India's first indigenous light combat aircraft, Tejas, was handed over to the Indian Air Force on Monday for initial operational clearance, the Indian Air Force chief has said.

"This is a historic moment for the Air Force and the scientific community. India has joined the elite list of powers capable of developing air combat platforms from scratch," said Pradeep Vasant Naik at a ceremony in Bangalore.

The 13-ton Tejas or Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) has been designed since mid-1980s. The world's lightest supersonic fighter jet is set to replace the aging MiG 21s.

The LCA's maiden flight was made on January 4, 2001. The Indian Air Force is reported to have a requirement for 200 single-seat Tejas fighters and 20 two-seat conversion trainers.

The first 40 jets will be equipped with General Electric F404 engines. Simultaneously, Indian engineers together with French experts are developing domestically-designed gas turbine engine, dubbed Kaveri which failed high altitude tests in 2004.

Russia started in-flight tests of the Kaveri engine in autumn 2010 but the engine is still not been certified.

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Russia Loses India as Second Largest Defense Customer

27.07.2009 Source: Pravda.Ru

Editor's Note: This announcement has big implications for a big Inidan Air Force (IAF) aircraft contract for 126 new fighters. The article suggests the Indians will select the US F16 or F18 Super Hornet aircraft over the Russian MiG35.

The Russians are losing the Indian business because of quality control problems. However, the Euro-fighter Typhoon, Swedish Saab JAS 39 Gripen, and the French Dassault Rafale are also competing for the IAF $12 billion contract. An earlier unconfirmed report indicated the French have been eliminated from the competition.

From now on India will be buying American weapons. The USA and India came to such an agreement during Hillary Clinton’s visit to Delhi on July 20. India has been using Russian and Soviet weapons for 50 years.

The relations between Russia and India, including those in the field of military and technical cooperation, have been worsening recently. India turned its attention to other partners and entered into transactions with Israel, France and other manufacturers of military hardware.

Now the USA, Russia’s major competitor in this sphere, completed this list. Russian military analysts say that the principal reason for India’s decision to develop defense cooperation with the USA lies in Russia’s numerous violations in execution of contract terms with India. India was outraged when Russia delayed the modernization of the Admiral Gorshkov aircraft carrier, as Russia did previously with the delivery of warships and submarines.

A new scandal arose several days before Clinton’s visit to Delhi. It proved that Russia had sold India defective air-to-air rockets.

Up to 50 percent of the rockets were reportedly defective. Therefore, the question of whether India continues to buy weapons from Russia remains open after the nation signed the defense cooperation agreement with the United States.

India will continue buying Russian tanks. However, it is going to co-operate with other suppliers in the sphere of operational aircraft and navy. Thus, Russia will lose its key position on the Indian arms market. For the time being, India is Russia’s second biggest customer.

The Russian defense complex is now unable to provide the production that would fully satisfy foreign customers, due to the loss of qualified personnel.

Another negative moment is that Russia has been purchasing navigation facilities, optical devices and avionics abroad for several years. The Russian military production is virtually ruined and military engineers have invented nothing new.

No wonder, that Russia has given way to its foreign competitors. China might be the next partner to pass on Russian weapons.

Delhi has taken the decision at the time when the Indian government assigned $30 billion on the modernization of its armed forces.

Two American military contractors - Lockheed Martin and Boeing are competing for the Indian orders. The transaction may prove to be the biggest deal in the sphere of arms trade.

Sergey Balmasov
Pravda.Ru

http://english.pravda.ru/world/asia/27-07-2009/108416-russia_india-0

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Russian aircraft hired by the US military forced down in India

Editor's Note: The Russians had offered to help the US in Afghanistan and it appears that they are. Russian President Medvedev recently met with his Afghan counterpart, Hamid Karzai, and promised him help with organizing the Afghan government.

(MUMBAI) In a major violation of Indian airspace, a Russian aircraft hired by the US military which was overflying India on Friday evening was forced to land in Mumbai airport.

The Antonov 124, which intelligence sources said had 18 Russians on board as well as trucks and arms., was on its way from Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean to a US base in Kandahar in south Afghanistan when it was intercepted by the Indian Air Force (IAF) on orders from the defense ministry.

The defense ministry’s public relations official, Captain M Nambiar, confirmed that a foreign aircraft was instructed to divert to Mumbai airport. "There has been a violation of our airspace by a civilian aircraft," he said. However, he denied that any IAF aircraft had escorted the US aircraft even as sources maintained that two IAF jets had indeed escorted the aircraft to Mumbai airport.

The An-124 is similar to the American Lockheed C-5 Galaxy, but has a 25% larger payload. Because it is the largest transport aircraft in the world, it is used to move over-sized cargo. Lockheed Martin contracts the An-124 to transport the Atlas V launch vehicle and the Centaur upper stage). Space Systems Loral also contracts the An-124 to transport satellites. Rolls-Royce contracts the Antonov AN-124 to move Trent family engines to and from their test facilities worldwide.

According to the sources, the aircraft while seeking permission from the defense ministry to fly over Indian airspace had identified itself as a civil aircraft doing a non-scheduled (charter) operation. All foreign aircraft doing non-scheduled or defense flights are required to submit their flight plans to obtain permission from Indian authorities to overfly Indian airspace.

"This aircraft had asked for the status of a non-scheduled aircraft and it flew over Indian flight information region as such. But to enter Pakistani airspace, it identified itself as a defense aircraft. It was still in Indian territory when this happened. The ambiguous status of the aircraft forced the defense ministry to issue orders to divert it to Mumbai," said a source.

The Ukrainian-make AN-124 aircraft is owned by Russian private airline Volga-Dnepr. It will be allowed to get airborne again today after the External Affairs Ministry gives the Air Operations Routing (AOR) authority to fly over Indian airspace.

"The aircraft is awaiting clearance and will take off once it is given by the government," a Mumbai International Airport Ltd (MIAL) spokesman said in Mumbai. "The US and the Russian operators have already approached the Ministry of External Affairs to obtain the AOR authority. The US has admitted that it was a mistake of the operator from whom they had hired the aircraft," IAF officials said in New Delhi.

The AN-124, the largest heavy transport aircraft manufactured by Ukrainian Antonov company with NATO code name Condor, was carrying military cargo, which included land vehicles, equipment and weapons for the US' fight against terrorism in Afghanistan, they said.

"The aircraft was apparently carrying military cargo for US armed forces personnel fighting Taliban under Operation Enduring Freedom. The aircraft, chartered by the US military, took off from Diego Garcia, a US military base on an island near Mauritius in the Indian Ocean," the IAF officials said.

The aircraft was moved to a parking bay at the cargo terminal, the Indian officials said. Indian security had cordoned off the aircraft and sleuths from the Intelligence Bureau and officials from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation carried out checks in the plane's cargo hold. They also questioned the crew and passengers on board the aircraft, they added.

IAF sources said the AN-124 had been operating on the same flight plan in the last fortnight and had come under adverse notice because of its call sign.

"The plane used a civilian aircraft call sign VDA 4466, whereas its original call sign was REACH 813, which implied it was a military cargo aircraft," IAF sources said.

"Since obtaining a military clearance for using Indian airspace by foreign military aircraft is cumbersome, the operator adopted a short-cut," they added.

en.rian.ru/world/20090620/155302795.html

www.ruvr.ru/main.php?lng=eng&q=46991&cid=219&p=20.06.2009&pn=1

www.expressindia.com/latest-news/Intruder-UShired-plane-to-be-let-off-after-Govt-clearance/478874

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antonov_An-124

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