Israel Rocks

So 35 years ago today the Israelis launched Operation Mole Cricket, their grand aerial assault on Syrian SAM positions in the Bekaa. This is part of their invasion of Lebanon and easily its most successful aspect.

Since the Yom Kippur War, when the Israelis suffered massive air losses due to Egyptian SAMs, the Israelis developed anti-SAM tactics and invested heavily in electronic warfare.

The Israelis used dozens of EW aircraft to confuse the Syrians and struck. On the first day of fighting they destroyed 14 SAMs and took out a further eleven after the Syrians brought in reinforcements. Results in the air were just as impressive. In two days of dog-fighting the Israels shot down more than 80 Syrian aircraft while losing none of their own. The Syrians never knew what hit them, only that the Israeli used EW to conceal their own operations and misdirect the Syrians.

If you like air and ground combat in the Bekaa Valley, you'll love Israel Strikes.