You have commented 339 times on Rantburg.

Your Name
Your e-mail (optional)
Website (optional)
My Original Nic        Pic-a-Nic        Sorry. Comments have been closed on this article.
Bold Italic Underline Strike Bullet Blockquote Small Big Link Squish Foto Photo
Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Lebanese army fires at Israeli fighter planes
2009-12-30
[Al Arabiya Latest] Lebanon's army said on Tuesday it fired at four Israeli warplanes which flew at low altitude over south Lebanon.

"The army's anti-aircraft guns fired in the direction of four Phantom-type enemy Israeli planes that had been overflying the (southeastern) Hasbaya region at low altitude since this (Tuesday) morning," an army spokesman told AFP.

U.N. peacekeepers and Lebanon say Israeli flights over the country violate Security Council Resolution 1701 that ended a 34-day war between Israel and Hezbollah guerrillas in 2006.

The army publishes almost daily reports of Israeli violations of Lebanese air space. But it rarely opens fire unless the Israeli planes fly within range of its guns.

An spokesman for the Israeli army said it was checking the report of the incident.

Israel relies heavily on air supremacy and its air raids destroyed large districts of the Hezbollah-dominated southern suburbs of Beirut and several towns and villages in south Lebanon during the 2006 war.

Hezbollah has said it has the right to acquire air-defense weapons and to use them against Israeli warplanes.

Posted by:Fred

#10  Mojo, Wild Weasels were retired several years ago.
USAF figured that they were unneeded, so parked them and the Aardvarks. Now they depend on the Prowler for the jamming mission, until the Electric Lawn Darts come on line in any sort of numbers.
But that won't fix your WW requirement in any case.
Posted by: USN, Ret.   2009-12-30 23:36  

#9  ION PAKISTANI DEFENCE FORUM > LEBANESE ANALYST: HAMAS IN 2010 WILL BE AS [militarily] STRONG AS PRE-WAR HEZBOLLAH IN 2006. The Hammies will be able to fire anti-aircraft missles at Israeli Helos + low-flying jets, emplace large quantities of IED explosives capable of destroying MERKAVA-sized MBTS = AFVS, ATGMS, + ability to attack Israeli civilian communities widin 100-kms [62 miles] from their Gaza bases. HAMAS will have the ability to seriously damage iff not destroy road-bound Israeli troop convoys.
Posted by: JosephMendiola   2009-12-30 19:05  

#8  Noted, and thanks for correcting my error!
Posted by: NoMoreBS   2009-12-30 18:59  

#7  Those are Soviet troops, NoMoBS. The guy you're referring to is most probably a lieutenant, and the insignia on his RIGHT breast pocket is probably an airborne infantry patch. Also note the red tabs on his collar - this is also an indication these are airborne troops.
Posted by: Old Patriot   2009-12-30 17:39  

#6  Got any Wild Weasels, boys?...
Posted by: mojo   2009-12-30 15:30  

#5  Old Pat, don't want to quibble, but the soldier on the left of the pic has an interesting eagle over his left breast pocket to looks a lot like the WWII insignia? Was there a similar insignia in the GDR military?
Posted by: NoMoreBS   2009-12-30 14:54  

#4  Actually, I recognize that photo - I've seen it many, many times. It's part of an air defense exercise in East Germany. The weapon is a ZU-23/4. The area in the background is Finsterwalde Airfield, a few miles east of Berlin. I can't remember exactly, but I think the photo was taken in the late '60s or early '70s. Although it's not radar-controlled, the ZU-23/4 is a potent air defense weapon, since it pumps out a HUGE rate of fire. The Soviets put the same four-barrel weapon on a tracked chassis, and added fire control radar. It could be used both as an air-defense weapon and an assault weapon (ZPU-4). The Israelis captured a half-dozen from Egypt in the 1973 war.
Posted by: Old Patriot   2009-12-30 14:48  

#3  A few small nukes will clear that ground fire right out.
Posted by: Silentbrick   2009-12-30 09:18  

#2  Pretty sure the RF-4 is still in service there. It flies and carries cameras, what more do you need?

What, got the Wehrmacht but missed this golden opportunity to show Hanoi Jane on the AAA?
Posted by: gromky   2009-12-30 04:19  

#1  Phantom Type? I think they need to brush up on their recognition drills.
Posted by: tipover   2009-12-30 01:30  

00:00