Posted on 10/05/2007 10:11:12 AM PDT by Signalman
The lid of secrecy covering the Sept. 6 Israeli air strike into Syria remains tight but one new theory emerging amid the speculation is that the Israeli conducted an electronic warfare exercise in preparation for future strikes or an attack on Iran.
Authoritative reports from the Middle East stated that the Israel operation included extensive electronic warfare jamming by aircraft. The Israeli were testing the capabilities of Russian-made air defenses, including both radar and missiles located near Damascus and south of Homs near the Lebanese northern border.
The raid was unprecedented in the blanket of jamming and electronic disruption that it caused over wide areas of Syria enroute to the target point, a base near the Euphrates River.
The jamming also affected parts of Lebanon and Israel but Syria was able to get a small amount of sensor information from one of its electronic eavesdropping stations and spot the Israeli infiltration.
The raid was part of a U.S. “masint” operation according to this theory, referring to the military practice known as measurement and signature intelligence that is designed to learn the chrematistics and capabilities of all weapons in a region that emanate electronic signals. The masint signatures are needed for targeting and for defeating air defense threats.
The daring raid would gain valuable intelligence needed for future strikes by both Israel and the United States in the region.
The U.S. military is considering attacks on both Syria and Iran to counter infiltration by insurgents and terrorists into Iraq, including the Iranian paramilitaries. Israel could use the data for its battle against Hizbullah and possibly a future strike on Iranian nuclear facilities.
Journalist Jack Wheeler raised this idea in a recent report when he stated that the identity of the target, whether nuclear facilities, missiles or Hizbullah terrorists is “not the story.”
“The primary point of the attack was not to destroy that target,” Wheeler said. “It was to shut down Syria's Russian air defense system during the attack. Doing so made the attack an incredible success. Syria is shamed and silent. Iran is freaking out in panic. Defenseless enemies are fun.”
Sure there are. Russian technicians will replace dummied-down export components/programming with current in-house stuff. Not their cutting-edge R&D level components, but operational stuff. Won't render these systems immune to jamming/hacking, but will reduce the exposure considerably. And, yes, Syria and Iran will be charged accordingly.
You must be female or have liberal thought process. I am not trying to be insulting but I see no other way to explain something to you. Our enemies, Iran, Syria want to take a nuclear weapon and smuggle it into Israel or America and detonate it. They believe it is their responsibility to bring about the third world war which and usher in the 12th Imam. Google this. How about your entire family being vaporized? Think you might be a little upset?
We cannot always stop all of their efforts to succeed in such a task without destroying the leadership of those nations whom keep trying. To do that we must go in on the ground at some point and some point soon. To go in on the ground we must have air superiority and disable or destroy their air defenses. I am an American and a Christian. I would love nothing more then to live in peace.
Radical Islam declared war on the USA in 1979, they just have gotten more allies and sophistication in their efforts since. Ignoring them in the 90’s emboldened them. Read of the history of the Crusades and why they came about. Islam will not stop until we surrender and convert or we are all dead. Those who think differently have not read the Koran or the bloody history of Muhammed’s deluded vision of global domination.
I doubt that the Syrians or Iranians can counter the Israelis, but you wouldn't just freely give them the chance (e.g. spending megabucks to buy a new system from South Africa, Serbia, China, Pakistan, etc.).
If you were going to make a test run on Syria prior to hitting Iran, then Iran would have been hit about 2 hours after Israel was 100% certain that their September 6 raids worked as desired.
Because Iran *couldn't* make or buy, much less deploy, the necessary changes in 2 hours.
But in 2 years? An open question. Money can buy a lot of things (cue A.Q Khan). So you don't just give up your element of technical surprise.
“might credit the Serbs with coming up with some nasty trick and being smart enough to use this equipment to nail somebody but not the Syrians”
Or credit the Serbs of having heritage with mother Russia and access to the Russian’s more advanced equipment.
Ping!
OK!
I believe that I remember that. Aegis trumped that, if my memory serves
Weren’t there a whole lot of simulations and exercises after that to see what the results would be on a large scale repeated series of attacks?
Interesting. Thanks for the post. - bill
Ping for more info on the 6 September raid. It says there was a widespread electronic shutdown, but I would like to see more evidence of that.
RADAR TECH. (he is making the sound effects) S***. (makes more sound effects and dials phone) Sir? (in microphone)SANDURZ What is it?
RADAR TECH. (O.S.) (in microphone) Can I talk to for a minute, please, sir.
SANDURZ & HELMET (walk over to him)
SANDURZ Well.
RADAR TECH. (in microphone) I'm having trouble with the radar, sir.
SANDURZ You don't need that, Private, we're right here. (hangs up microphone) Now, what is it?
RADAR TECH. (in microphone voice) I'm having trouble with radar, sir.
HELMET (rips out the microphone-mask up) Now, what is it?
RADAR TECH. I'm having trouble with the radar, sir.
HELMET What's wrong with it?
RADAR TECH. I've lost the bleeps, I've the lost the sweeps, and I've lost the creeps.
HELMET The what?
SANDURZ The what?
HELMET And the what?
RADAR TECH. You know. The bleeps, (makes bleeps sounds) the sweeps, (makes sweeps sounds) and the creeps. (makes creeps sounds)
HELMET (to Sandurz) That's not he's lost.
RADAR TECH. Sir. The radar, sir. It appears to be....
Jam starts dripping down the screen.
RADAR TECH. ....jammed.
HELMET Jammed? (takes a taste of the jam) Raspberry. There's only one man who would dare give me the raspberry. (pulls down mask) Lone Starr!
Step onto an area marked "Deadly Force Authorized" on some SAC base, and you'd have thought differently. Them SAC sky cops were trigger happy bunch. Someone bought them a bunch of armored cars, which they promptly deemed "War Wagons".
Nowadays, the zoomies are guarding convoys in the Iraqi desert, and not from aircraft either, but the old fashioned way. They call it "in-lieu-of," or ILO, taskings or duties outside their normal Air Force specialties.
Don't know who is keeping the aircraft ready to fly and fight.
And swamp gas.
The site was along a river I believe.
Looky...
AWACs might have some capability to do that, but the specialists in that sort of thing are the RC-135U COMBAT SENT
And the RC-135V/W RIVET JOINT.
Pictures are a bit out of date, the birds have been re-engined with CFM-56s (F108-CF-201), which are much larger than those shown. There are only two RC-135Us, and 13 RC-135V/W aircraft. All are assigned to the 55th wing at Offutt AFB, near Omaha. They deploy worldwide of course,
I was uneasy that they now know we can do this.
Thanks for the up date ... I knew we had an airframe that did this but did not know which one it was.
Howdy :) Interesting subject hugh?
We’re gonna be Iron, Like a Lion, in Zion...
We had to go to "the shores of Tripoli" in 1804, although the Marines didn't go ashore in any numbers until 1805, under 1st LT. O'Bannon. An early expedition, consisting mostly of Naval blockade forces went in 1801. The Tripolitania (or just Tripoli) declared war on the US in 1801.
After a minor distraction, the War of 1812, US forces returned, with two Navy squadrons, to once again smack down the rulers of Barbary. The Marine Officers sword is based on the Mameluke sword presented to O'Bannon in 1805.
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