IAF practicing F-16/MiG 29 dogfights and 'heavy formations

[muman613]

This sounds like great news. Israel seems to be prepared to defend itself against the nuclear threat of Iran.

I can hear the strains of "Bomb Iran" in the back of my mind....


http://israelmatzav.blogspot.com/2009/05/iaf-practicing-f-16mig-29-dogfights-and.html

IAF practicing F-16/MiG 29 dogfights and 'heavy formations'

In yet another sign that an attack on Iran's nuclear facilities may be imminent, Israel's Channel 2 television reported on Wednesday that the IAF has borrowed MiG 29 fighter jets from an unnamed foreign country and is using them to practice dogfights with its F-16's. The MiG 29 - a Soviet fighter plane that was first developed in the 1970's - is the backbone of both the Syrian and the Iranian air forces. The IAF has also been practicing flying F-16's loaded with weapons in what is called 'heavy formations.'

    "We tested them - we trained the IAF pilots against them," an unnamed IAF official said.

    The IAF employs ten test pilots. The training of each costs about a million dollars, but the experience gleaned from the test pilots, the unnamed official said, "is priceless."

    "You fly in places and in certain conditions in a way never attempted before," an unidentified test pilot said. "Once, a piece of the jet's body broke during an experiment but the crew managed to land it safely."

    A test jet is just like a regular one, except for special sensors which cover literally every aspect of its mechanical and electronic systems and can be monitored from the ground for assessment.

    An additional experiment conducted recently by the air force involved loading an F-16 with weapons to its utmost capacity, or "flight in a heavy formation," as the test pilot labeled it. The experiment was meant to measure the pilot's safety and the fighter's capability when it was carrying the maximum amount of armaments.

    A jet so armed might be used in a long-distance sortie. The pilots interviewed would not name which foreign countries might be the targets of such sorties, but it was clear the main target of such an ambitious mission would be Iran's nuclear installations.

Hmmm.

[syyuge]

I highly suspect that the IAF may be planning to attack terrorist hideouts at Somalia. Practicing with Mig-29's may be an eyewash.
 
 

[Muck DeFuslims]

Hmmmm, indeed.

It's always difficult to know how much to believe of reports like this. Could merely be a case of disinformation, or sabre rattling designed to warn Iran. Obviously, the IAF wouldn't want the Iranians to know what they're up to and what their capabilities are. But in this case, I think there is probably good reason to put credence into this report.

The reason I say this is because of Israel's recently reported attack on an Iranian truck convoy in Sudan that was carrying weapons for Hamas in Gaza. Although this mission is shrouded in secrecy, (some sources maintain it was actually an American AC-130 that hit the Iranian supplies in Sudan) if true, it demonstrates the IAF has the capability to go the long distance required for an attack on Iran.

Having demonstrated the capacity to deliver a pin point attack on a truck convoy some 900 miles away in Sudan with devastating accuracy and effect, the next step would be to simulate such a long distance sorte against a well defended target. Remember, there was no such opposition in Sudan. So it seems the IAF may very well be incrementally turning the heat up and refining it's operational tactics and capacities to meet the requirements necessary for a raid on Iran.

The logistics of a raid on Sudan likely would have required refueling. Where this was done and which countries air space was used is a mystery. Just as the 'unnamed foreign country' supplying the Mig 29's is also a mystery.

One thing is certain, whether it be terrorists in Uganda, a reactor in Osirak, a reactor in Syria, or an arms convoy in Sudan, that marvelous little Jewish nation has shown time and again it has amazing intelligence gathering abilities and and the ability to hit it's enemies virtually anywhere.

G-d bless Israel and the Jewish people.