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| Syria-Lebanon-Iran |
| 'IAF was seemingly taking photographs' |
| 2007-09-07 |
| According to a Western diplomat in Damascus, IAF planes which had allegedly infiltrated into Syrian airspace overnight Wednesday were most likely positioned in the area to take photographs, Israel Radio reported on Thursday night. After Syrian aerial defense systems identified the jets, the pilots were forced to throw bombs and fuel tanks out of the planes, said the official. The IDF spokesperson declined to comment, saying that the army does not respond "to such reports." Residents of the Abyad area, the location in northern Syria where the IAF was reported to have flown over the previous night, claimed to have found several fuel tanks that the Israeli pilots had allegedly thrown out of their planes. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #8 They were supposed to be conducting war games with the Turks. Turks have more airspace and like training with pros. |
| Posted by: Steve 2007-09-07 16:38 |
| #7 Ooh, ooh, I likey #2, Glenmore! Let's see...who's on da utter side of Syria, hmmmm? |
| Posted by: BA 2007-09-07 13:22 |
| #6 why would they need external fuel tanks? 1) Loiter time. For monitoring a larger area or/and over a longer period of time. Tough over a defended place like Syria without Stealth technology though. 2) They were on their way BACK from someplace on the opposite side of Syria from them, and they had needed the extra fuel load to get there and back. |
| Posted by: Glenmore 2007-09-07 12:28 |
| #5 Given how close Israel is to Syria, why would they need external fuel tanks? We're not talking about going from Diego Garcia to Iraq, here. |
| Posted by: WhitecollarRedneck 2007-09-07 11:54 |
| #4 Also, recce planes generally do not carry bombs. They might have a few defensive missiles, but not bombs. |
| Posted by: Rambler 2007-09-07 10:16 |
| #3 TW, additional fuel tanks are carried externally on underwing pylons. Also known as "drop tanks". Can be ejected in combat to improve manuverability. |
| Posted by: Steve 2007-09-07 07:33 |
| #2 Fuel tanks? I'd have thought those would be rather more securely attached than even Israeli superhero strength --however much aided by the adrenaline of panic -- could quickly detach. But then, I'm not very good at things mechanical, so it's likely I'm missing a critical factor. |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2007-09-07 06:50 |
| #1 Just tossed them out a window, I suppose. |
| Posted by: Scott R. 2007-09-07 00:55 |