What do you think?
Rate this book
Osprey Combat Aircraft #67
Israeli F-15 Eagle Units In Combat
Diplomacy, politics and national trauma has dominated the frontline career of the Israeli F-15 to date. In the wake of the losses suffered in the October 1973 Yom Kippur War, the Israeli government opted for technology in an effort to reassure a traumatised population that they would never suffer a surprise attack from the air again. Despite Israel Defense Force Air Force (IDF/AF) interceptors having performed extremely successfully during the Yom Kippur War, they did not achieve the kind of results that allowed Israel to achieve future deterrence. The nation was not only looking for weapons that would win a war, but that would also prevent it in the first place.
Post-Yom Kippur diplomacy enabled Israel to purchase the F-15 Eagle, which was then the world's best air-to-air fighter. For the first time in its history the IDF/AF could operate a fighter that was a full generation ahead of all opposing interceptors in the region. The first 'Kill' F-15 Baz (Buzzard) arrived in Israel in December 1976, and three years later it got the chance to prove its worth in combat. Israeli Baz pilots were credited with 12.5 kills between 1979 and 1981, with 33 victories following during the June 1982 Lebanon War. A further 4.5 kills followed in post-Lebanon War skirmishes. Despite all of this combat, no Israeli F-15 has ever been lost to enemy action.
Once the jet secured air superiority and deterrence had been achieved along the Israeli borders, the IDF/AF went on to explore the Baz's long-range attributes and as air-to-ground capability. As an example of the former, Israeli F-15s escorted F-16 strike aircraft all the way to Iraq's nuclear reactor in June 1981, and in its bomber role, the type flew the IDF/AF's longest ever attack mission in October 1985 when it bombed the PLO headquarters in Tunis. Diplomacy prevailed again in the 1990s when the US government agreed to supply the IDF/AF with the F-15I Ra'am (Thunder) to fulfill the long-range surface-to-surface missile (SSM) mission post-Desert Storm. These aircraft also acted as a counter-balance to the sale of the F-15S to Saudi Arabia. A follow-on to the F-15I purchase was the development of the Improved Baz Avionics Upgrade Program, which saw the integration of many of the F-15I features into the older F-15A/B/C/D. From A to I, the extremely capable, and combat-tested, Israeli F-15 force will continue to deter potential enemies well into the foreseeable future.
Post-Yom Kippur diplomacy enabled Israel to purchase the F-15 Eagle, which was then the world's best air-to-air fighter. For the first time in its history the IDF/AF could operate a fighter that was a full generation ahead of all opposing interceptors in the region. The first 'Kill' F-15 Baz (Buzzard) arrived in Israel in December 1976, and three years later it got the chance to prove its worth in combat. Israeli Baz pilots were credited with 12.5 kills between 1979 and 1981, with 33 victories following during the June 1982 Lebanon War. A further 4.5 kills followed in post-Lebanon War skirmishes. Despite all of this combat, no Israeli F-15 has ever been lost to enemy action.
Once the jet secured air superiority and deterrence had been achieved along the Israeli borders, the IDF/AF went on to explore the Baz's long-range attributes and as air-to-ground capability. As an example of the former, Israeli F-15s escorted F-16 strike aircraft all the way to Iraq's nuclear reactor in June 1981, and in its bomber role, the type flew the IDF/AF's longest ever attack mission in October 1985 when it bombed the PLO headquarters in Tunis. Diplomacy prevailed again in the 1990s when the US government agreed to supply the IDF/AF with the F-15I Ra'am (Thunder) to fulfill the long-range surface-to-surface missile (SSM) mission post-Desert Storm. These aircraft also acted as a counter-balance to the sale of the F-15S to Saudi Arabia. A follow-on to the F-15I purchase was the development of the Improved Baz Avionics Upgrade Program, which saw the integration of many of the F-15I features into the older F-15A/B/C/D. From A to I, the extremely capable, and combat-tested, Israeli F-15 force will continue to deter potential enemies well into the foreseeable future.
96 pages, Paperback
First published December 7, 2006
2 people are currently reading
18 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
July 12, 2016
Now, as much as I like reading about Soviet and Russian jets, the Israeli Air Force (IDFAF) history is even more compelling. Apart from the USAF, and maybe even more so, the IDIAF has had the most active combat resume of any country after WW2. With close to 850 dogfight kills in roughly 40 years of action, including the first for F-15 and F-16 and a few other aircraft types, there's a lot to tell and share.
This books is about the induction of the F-15 (Baz) into the Israeli Air Force, the late 70s drama with MiG-25 Foxbat interceptions - proper stuff, the Osirak raid, the 1982 war, and a few other daring movie-worthy missions. Shlomo Aloni is a decent writer and he tells a good story, switching between data and personal stories, which are just as interesting. Moreover, the narrative covers a relatively recent history, so it's not just reading about ancient events that no one remembers, some of the stuff actually resonates clearly in people's memories, and it is nice to be able to relate chapters in a book to the events you've seen or witnessed.
All in all, this is a highly enjoyable Clancyesque book, with mind-boggling detail on some of the most remarkable combat stories in modern history. Top Gun has nothing on this. Highly recommended. Oh, speaking of Top Gun, do take a look at my review of the Iranian F-14 operations, by Tom Cooper and Farzad Bishop. That book is quite fascinating, too.
Iranian F-14 Tomcat Units in Combat
Fox Two!
Igor
This books is about the induction of the F-15 (Baz) into the Israeli Air Force, the late 70s drama with MiG-25 Foxbat interceptions - proper stuff, the Osirak raid, the 1982 war, and a few other daring movie-worthy missions. Shlomo Aloni is a decent writer and he tells a good story, switching between data and personal stories, which are just as interesting. Moreover, the narrative covers a relatively recent history, so it's not just reading about ancient events that no one remembers, some of the stuff actually resonates clearly in people's memories, and it is nice to be able to relate chapters in a book to the events you've seen or witnessed.
All in all, this is a highly enjoyable Clancyesque book, with mind-boggling detail on some of the most remarkable combat stories in modern history. Top Gun has nothing on this. Highly recommended. Oh, speaking of Top Gun, do take a look at my review of the Iranian F-14 operations, by Tom Cooper and Farzad Bishop. That book is quite fascinating, too.
Iranian F-14 Tomcat Units in Combat
Fox Two!
Igor
April 1, 2016
Interesting coverage
I enjoyed this book. It was typical of this series, but was interesting to learn the challenges Israel had to get all of the F-15s.
I enjoyed this book. It was typical of this series, but was interesting to learn the challenges Israel had to get all of the F-15s.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews