Forum: F-16 News

I never blamed the US about the problems, and I don't believe they are to be held responsible. Previously, the Crusaders were the problem and the ones who fought for Jerusalem, not the Jews. They weren't even a country back then !

In any case, maybe it's time to keep talking about that incident of the title...

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pafpilot wrote:

Quote:

Does anyone know how the Syrian media is covering up this issue?

According to the Syrian media president Bashar-al-Assad was in Damascus at the time of the incident, where he had a meeting with the Jordanian prime minister and foreign affairs minister and later with a Lebanese official.

Israel claims the F-16s overflew Assad's residence in Latakia (a seaside city a couple of hundred miles to the north of Damascus)

Unofficial Syrian sources claim that 2 Vipers flew top cover at high alt. just outside Syrian territorial waters while another two attempted a low-level penetration. Reportedly they were engaged by an SA-3 site which fired two missiles; the F-16s turning away before reaching the coast. No sonic boom was heard.

MY OPINION about this:
1. It seems clear that Assad was in Damascus, not Latakia.
2. I doubt an SA-3 site can track low-level, high-speed targets.

The truth seems to be in between, as usual.

I'm only gonna say this once. So read good and ahead the warning. Lay-off the religious [Muslim - Jew conflict] and political aspects [Who backs who!] of the conflict in the Mid-East. Find a appropriate forum which deals with such and go join it.......

None of the current poster's are politicians or are senior members of any religious bodies. If you are one or the other, please change your Author status to the left to reflect that so we know.

Any further posting along those 2 lines will get deleted. Please stick to the topics in hand.

Sorry guys i think i shouldnt have used the Phrase "Muslim-jew conflict".I apologise for it . What i wanted to say is that these things have occured in the past aswell.Just my point!

Last edited by blain2 on Jul 06, 2006 - 10:20 PM; edited 1 time in total

GaryDucote wrote:

Why, would two opposing nations with such animosity not fly 24 hr. CAP's in vulnerable sections of their borders to prevent one or the other from invading one
s airspace?

Because the Syrians have not been able to maintain a credible airforce due to the demise of Soviet Union. Syria vs. Israel has never been an even match (either from quantity or quality standpoint).

blain2 wrote:

GaryDucote wrote:

Why, would two opposing nations with such animosity not fly 24 hr. CAP's in vulnerable sections of their borders to prevent one or the other from invading one
s airspace?

Because the Syrians have not been able to maintain a credible airforce due to the demise of Soviet Union. Syria vs. Israel has never been an even match (either from quantity or quality standpoint).

They recently ordered Iranian jets which I can't spell the name of - some freak mix of a reverse engineered F-5, MiG components and Iranian avionics.

This? Even if Syria ordered it, I doubt it would change the picture.

globalsecurity wrote:

Azarakhsh (Lightning)

Iran was not known to have possessed advanced technology to build fighter planes or tanks. However, In April 1997 Iranian Brigadier General Arasteh, a deputy head of the General Staff of the Armed Forces (serving under Major General Ali Shahbazi, the joint chief of staff) claimed that Iran had successfully designed, constructed, and tested its first fighter aircraft, the Azarakhsh(Lightning). According to one theory, Iran cobbled together an aircraft by reverse-engineered elements from a number of other aircraft. Evidently a modified F-5, this Iranian design evolved from an examination of the wide variety of fighter aircraft in Iran's inventory [which include both the F-4 and F-5], along with training and experimentation.

A scaled-up version of the US Northrop Grumman F-5f Tiger, Azarakhsh features shoulder mounted air intakes. It is said to be a 10- to 15- percent larger than the F-5. It incorporates an Iranian-designed radar, but with some of the avionics modules actually of Russian design.

Brigadier General Arasteh stated in April 1997 that the "production line of this aircraft will begin work in the near future." And Iranian officials announced in September 1997 that Iran had started mass producing its first locally-designed fighter-bomber. In February 1999 commander of the Air Force Brigadier-General Habibollah Baqaei offered a report on the achievements of the air force. He said the Air Force had made great progress since the victory of the Islamic Revolution in the operational, technical, educational and research fields and in manufacturing fighter planes of Azarakhsh and training plane of Tondar as well as radar receivers and is strong enough to defend the air-space of the Islamic Republic of Iran. In June 1999 it was reported that Iran had begun series production of the Azarakhsh. As of 2000 only four examples of the Azarakhsh were thought to be in existence, and series production was expected to start in 2001. As of 2001 there were six in inventory, with a production schedule established for 30 aircraft over the following three years.

Source: globalsecurity.org

The Azarakhsh is still a prototype, the picture at globalsecurity.org is a fake, I have the original F-5 photo for comparison if anyone is interested...
Like DeepSpace said, it wouldn't change the picture much even if it would happen

If its an F-5 that was reverse engineered by Iran and had some MiG and other Russian components put into it, then I guess that makes the standard F-5 superior to this reverse engineered Iranian version. But I bet it will make a good trainer for the Iranians.

Forum: F-16 News

IAF: Aerial flight over Assad's palace