Syria: Air defenses fired at Israeli aircraft over our airsp

Syria: Air defenses fired at Israeli aircraft over our airspace

oooops!

[quote]The Syrian government announced this morning that it had fired at Israeli military planes that had violated its airspace. So far, the BBC has not reported a response to this announcement from Israeli government or military sources:

[quote]Syria says its air defences have opened fire on Israeli war planes which had entered Syrian airspace.

The action took place "without causing human or material loss", according to the official Syrian news agency, SANA.

The agency says Israeli jets entered Syrian airspace from the Mediterranean Sea heading northeast at dawn on Thursday, but were forced to leave. [/quote]

This sounds a little fishy. Why would Israeli military jets overfly Syria from the Mediterranean – and especially heading northeast? Where would they be going, Iraq or Turkey? Neither nation would have given them an especially friendly aloha. The pilots would have to have been seriously lost to have flown such a mission.

Besides the skepticism over the description of the flights, one has to wonder why Syria would announce that they can’t hit two planes flying in an isolated mission over their territory. What purpose does that serve, except to point out their inability to protect their own airspace?

More on this as it develops.[/quote]
from captain ed.
captainsquartersblog.com/mt/

Could have been drones. Them little fellows can be hard to hit…I guess.

Quite advanced drones one must think if they can break the sound barrier. And didn’t know they fly in formations of 4 or 5. The possible reasons for flying there are also mentioned in the article:

With the new “UFO” technology out there, drones flying in formation shouldn’t be too far off, if not here already.

I have to agree with Captain Ed here: Gather intel, and show Syria (and Iran) that there’s snot a thing they can do to prevent Israeli death from above.

Quite advanced drones one must think if they can break the sound barrier. And didn’t know they fly in formations of 4 or 5. The possible reasons for flying there are also mentioned in the article:[/quote]And?..there’s probably a lot more on this subject you don’t know. And the benefit of posting 12 hours later is abundant.

[quote=“Rascal”][quote]Counterterrorism expert Boaz Ganor said that if Thursday’s flyover did occur, it was possible that Israel was “collecting intelligence on long-range missiles” deployed by Syria in the North.[/quote][/quote]And?..I’ve also been quoted as a “Counter Terrorism Expert” by the media…and he is correct in using the ambiguous term…“…it was possible…” in his statement. Its known as an …“out”. Sorry you don’t recognize the tool used here. Could have saved you the embarrassment.

Doesn’t look like the content of the article has been changed but of course you might have an “explanation” for that, too:

[quote]And?..I’ve also been quoted as a “Counter Terrorism Expert” by the media…and he is correct in using the ambiguous term…“…it was possible…” in his statement. Its known as an …“out”. Sorry you don’t recognize the tool used here.
Could have saved you the embarrassment.[/quote]
You mean statements like this?

Spoken like a true “Counter Terrorism Expert”.

Spoken like a true…uh…well…whatever it is someone pays you to do.

added:

[quote]Advanced Russian Air Defense Missile Cannot Protect Syrian and Iranian Skies
DEBKAfile Exclusive Military Report
September 7, 2007, 1:16 PM (GMT+02:00)
Russian-made Pantsyr S1 fire control and radar systems

DEBKAfile’s military experts conclude from the way Damascus described the episode Wednesday, Sept. 6, that the Pantsyr-S1E missiles, purchased from Russia to repel air assailants, failed to down the Israeli jets accused of penetrating northern Syrian airspace from the Mediterranean the night before.

The new Pantsyr missiles therefore leave Syrian and Iranian airspace vulnerable to hostile intrusion.

The Israeli plane or planes were described by a Syrian military spokesman as “forced to leave by Syrian air defense fire after dropping ammunition over deserted areas without causing casualties.” He warned “the Israeli enemy against repeating its aggressive action” and said his government reserved the right to respond in an appropriate manner.

Western intelligence circles stress that information on Russian missile consignments to Syria or Iran is vital to any US calculation of whether to attack Iran over its nuclear program. They assume that the “absolute jamming immunity” which the Russian manufactures promised for the improved Pantsyr missiles was immobilized by superior electronic capabilities exercised by the jets before they were “forced to leave.”

Syria took delivery in mid-August of 10 batteries of sophisticated Russian Pantsyr-S1E Air Defense Missile fire control systems with advanced radar, those sources report. They have just been installed in Syria.

Understanding that the Pantsyr-S1E had failed in its mission to bring down trespassing aircraft, Moscow hastened Thursday, Sept 6, to officially deny selling these systems to Syria or Iran and called on Israel to respect international law. This was diplomatic-speak for a warning against attacking the Russian-made missiles batteries stations where Russian instructors are working alongside Syrian teams.

Western intelligence circles maintain that it is vital for the US and Israel to establish the location and gauge the effectiveness of Pantsyr-S1E air defenses in Syrian and Iranian hands, as well as discovering how many each received.

They estimate that at least three or four batteries of the first batch of ten were shipped to Iran to boost its air defense arsenal; another 50 are thought to be on the way, of which Syria will keep 36.

The purported Israeli air force flights over the Pantsyr-S1E site established that the new Russian missiles, activated for the first time in the Middle East, are effective and dangerous but can be disarmed. Western military sources attribute to those Israeli or other air force planes superior electronics for jamming the Russian missile systems, but stress nonetheless that they were extremely lucky to get away unharmed, or at worst, with damage minor enough for a safe return to base.

The courage, daring and operational skills of the air crews must have been exceptional. They would have needed to spend enough time in hostile Syrian air space to execute several passes at varying altitudes under fire in order to test the Pantsyr-S1E responses. Their success demonstrated to Damascus and Tehran that their expensive new Russian anti-air system leaves them vulnerable.

Washington like Jerusalem withheld comment in the immediate aftermath of the episode. After its original disclosure, Damascus too is holding silent. Western intelligence sources believe the Syrians in consultation with the Russians and Tehran are weighing action to gain further media mileage from the incident. They may decide to exhibit some of the “ammunition” dropped by the Israeli aircraft as proof of Israel’s contempt for international law. A military response may come next.

Pantsir-S1 or Panzir (“Shell" in English) is a short-range, mobile air defense system, combining two 30mm anti-aircraft guns and 12 surface-to-air missiles which can fire on the move. It can simultaneously engage two separate targets at 12 targets per minute, ranging from fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters, ballistic and cruise missiles, precision-guided munitions and unmanned air vehicles. It can also engage light-armored ground targets.

The Pantsyr S1 short-range air defense system is designed to provide point defense of key military and industrial facilities and air defense support for military units during air and ground operations.

The integrated missile and gun armament creates an uninterrupted engagement zone of 18 to 20 km in range and of up to 10 km in altitude. Immunity to jamming is promised via a common multimode and multi-spectral radar and optical control system. The combined missile and artillery capability makes the Russian system the most advanced air defense system in the world. Syria and Iran believe it provides the best possible protection against American or Israeli air and missile attack. Stationed in al Hamma, at the meeting point of the Syrian-Jordanian and Israeli borders, the missile’s detection range of 30 km takes in all of Israel’s northern air force bases.

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debka.com/article.php?aid=1301[/quote]