The Syrian Arab Republic and the State of Israel have a long and bloody history of relationship. From the very moment of the formation of the Jewish state, neighboring Arab countries tried to destroy it by force of arms. For a long time, Syria has been Israel's most serious adversary in terms of military potential. In the course of a series of armed conflicts, countries on both sides have lost many thousands of people killed and incurred significant material costs. Until now, since 1948, after the founding of the Jewish state, Syria and Israel are formally at war.
As one of the Israelis wrote in the comments on Voennoye Obozreniye: “With regard to the Air Force and Air Defense, the Syrians are our teachers (like the Swedes are for the army of Peter I). They have worked out all the tactics of the IDF strikes on the ground. The first UAVs were tested on them. And the Syrian Air Force gave us valuable practical experience in the use of 4th generation fighters. Guidance of fighters with the help of radars of other fighters, firing UR explosives from medium distances."
Yes, and Israeli high-ranking military personnel in unofficial conversations have repeatedly admitted that the Syrian armed forces were their most serious adversary. Unlike, say, the Egyptians, the Syrian soldiers, armed with the same Soviet equipment, achieved great success on the battlefield in the offensive, and in defense they often demonstrated staunchness unusual for most Arabs.
For a long time, Syria was the main ally of the Soviet Union in the Middle East and received modern Soviet weapons. As a rule, arms deliveries from the USSR went on credit, and often free of charge. In the 90s, this source of free "weapon freebies" dried up, and the possibilities of Syria itself in terms of purchasing weapons on the world market were very scarce. Left without Soviet help, the Syrian armed forces began to gradually degrade, this was especially noticeable in the most high-tech areas - in the Air Force and Air Defense (more details here: The current state of the air defense system of the Syrian Arab Republic). Although we must pay tribute to the Syrian leadership: with rather meager financial resources, before the start of the civil war in the country, it made serious efforts to maintain the anti-aircraft systems and fighters produced in the 70-80s in working order, and also allocated money for the purchase of modern air defense systems …
The Israeli Air Force, on the other hand, has dynamically developed and improved, becoming in the 21st century the most powerful in the Middle East region. The capabilities of Israel and Syria for the development of the armed forces were incomparable and this, of course, affected the activity of the Syrian army in the border areas and in the more restrained policy of the Syrian leadership. In the last years of the reign of President Hafez Assad, who dreamed of the physical destruction of Israel all his adult life, but was at the same time a far-sighted politician and a realist, there has been a tendency to normalize relations between the countries. At the same time, the Syrians were preparing an asymmetric response in the event of an Israeli attack, and a program to create a chemical arsenal was in full swing. For the tactical and operational-tactical missile systems available in the Syrian army: "Luna", "Elbrus" and "Tochka", combat units equipped with toxic substances were created. Using them on the battlefield, of course, would not have helped to win the war, but as a deterrent in the event of strikes on Israeli cities, the role of missiles with chemical warheads was great. The distance from the Syrian-Israeli border to Tel Aviv is about 130 km, that is, about half of Israel's territory is located in the affected area of the Tochka OTR. However, the use of weapons of mass destruction against a nuclear-armed state like Israel would more likely mean the beginning of a regional nuclear apocalypse, and the Syrian leadership, realizing this, also showed certain nuclear ambitions.
Apparently, work in this direction was authorized even during the time of the late President Hafez Assad, but the facts of Syrian nuclear research were already widely publicized under the incumbent President Bashar Assad. In the early 2000s, Israeli intelligence recorded a series of meetings between high-ranking Syrian and North Korean officials, at which they could talk about the provision of North Korean nuclear technology and fissile materials. The DPRK has never been a direct enemy of Israel, but due to the permanent shortage of currency, North Korea actively sold nuclear secrets and missile technologies to everyone. In addition, there were close friendly relations between Syria and Iran, which also actively pursued the possession of nuclear weapons. The unifying ideological factor for the leadership of the SAR and Iran is hatred of Israel, taking into account this Iran, which has advanced much further in nuclear research than Syria, could well have shared radioactive materials, technologies and equipment.
Naturally, Israel reacted extremely sharply to the desire of neighboring unfriendly countries to acquire nuclear weapons. In all fairness, it should be said that the expansion of the "nuclear club" is undoubtedly a destabilizing factor in the international arena, and no one is interested in this, including Russia. On this issue, despite a number of disagreements on other topics, the interests of Israel and Russia coincide. The only question is the methods by which Israel is inclined to act, and these methods are often very "sharp", far beyond the framework of international law. Neither in the past, nor now, the Israeli special services, operating on the territory of other states, did not bother with the observance of national criminal law, putting their own interests above all. For example, in December 2006 in London, Israeli agents broke into a hotel room where a high-ranking Syrian official was staying, and during his absence installed spyware and a technical device on his laptop, with which they subsequently obtained valuable information about the Syrian nuclear program. It became known about Iran's intention to build a uranium enrichment facility on the Syrian territory, in case similar Iranian facilities cannot function.
Naturally, this could not but alarm the Israeli leadership and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert authorized the preparation of an operation to counter the Syrian-Iranian nuclear project. To collect information, the Israeli intelligence satellite Ofek-7 was used, and, most likely, the Israeli agents available in Syria. As subsequent events showed, the Israelis were very well informed about the progress of nuclear research and the locations of the alleged Syrian nuclear facilities. The situation for Syria became more complicated after the General of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, Ali Reza Asghari, who had fled from Iran to the United States, who had access to his country's nuclear secrets, provided the Americans with documents on the development of a secret Syrian nuclear program. According to the testimony of Ali Reza Asgari, North Korean scientists provided technical support, and Iran provided money for the implementation of the program (about a billion dollars). It also became known about an object located at a military base in the vicinity of the city of Marj al-Sultan, where it was planned to enrich uranium from Iranian concentrate. The Syrians allegedly planned to transport the raw materials ready for loading to the reactor in Al-Kibar (Deir el-Zor).
Satellite image of the alleged nuclear facility at Deir El Zor
Syria responded with a categorical refusal to the IAEA's request for the admission of experts to these facilities. In early 2007, the Israelis asked George W. Bush to strike with US long-range cruise missiles at Syrian nuclear facilities, but this time the Americans decided to refrain from a missile attack. A North Korean ship carrying uranium rods for a Syrian nuclear reactor was spotted shortly after, unloading in the Syrian port of Tartus. The arrival of the North Korean vessel with uranium was the starting point, after which the military operation entered the phase of practical implementation.
This was not the first operation of its kind, in 1981, as a result of a raid by Israeli warplanes, the Iraqi Osirak nuclear reactor was destroyed. All these actions fit into the framework of the Israeli doctrine, according to which the Arab countries - Israel's adversaries, should never, under any circumstances, acquire nuclear weapons.
The Israeli Air Force operation, later known as the Orchard (Hebrew מבצע בוסתן, English Operation Orchard), took place on September 6, 2007. The airstrike was ordered before the reactor began operation, as the destruction of an active nuclear facility located on the banks of the Euphrates could lead to severe radioactive contamination of its waters.
Shortly after midnight, residents of the Syrian provincial town of Deir el-Zor, whose name translates as "Monastery in the forest," heard a series of explosions and saw a bright flash in the desert beyond the Euphrates. All of this was the final act of the Israeli Air Force raid to destroy the alleged Syrian nuclear facility. According to information leaked to the media, 69 Squadron F-15I fighter-bombers were involved in the aerial attack.
The Israeli two-seater F-15I, also known as the Thunder (English "Thunder"), are very advanced both in the ability to conduct aerial combat and in terms of striking ground targets with combat vehicles. In many ways, they are even superior to the American F-15E. On part of the route, the F-15I was accompanied by the F-16I Sufa, which is a two-seat, seriously improved modification of the F-16D Block 50/52 fighter.
Israeli F-16I and F-15I
The raid also involved an electronic warfare aircraft, designated in a number of sources as ELINT, perhaps it was the CAEW AWACS and electronic warfare aircraft, created on the basis of the administrative G550 Gulfstream Aerospace. On the night of September 6, 2007, in Israel itself, in Syria and in southwestern Turkey, there were malfunctions in the work of telecommunication systems. This was the result of the most powerful electronic interference generated in order to blind the Syrian air defense system. It was noted that there was no such level of electronic countermeasures from Israel for about 25 years, after the events of 1982 in the Bek Valley. Apparently, the electronic warfare equipment was also carried by combat aircraft directly participating in the strike.
Aircraft AWACS and electronic warfare CAEW
The Israeli-Syrian line of contact and the border with Lebanon from the Syrian side in 2007 were very tightly covered by air defense systems, and in this area the degree of combat readiness of the Syrian air defense systems has traditionally been maintained at a high level. With the aim of misleading Syrian air defenses and minimizing the risk of hitting combat aircraft to a minimum, the invasion of Syrian airspace came from Turkey, from where an attack was not expected. The concentration of Syrian air defense systems along the Turkish border at that time was low, and most of the radar stations for lighting the air situation did not function, which was ultimately used by the Israelis. Seven F-15Is entered Turkey from the southwest. While over Turkish territory, Israeli fighter-bombers dropped the outboard tanks after they ran out of fuel.
The route of Israeli combat aircraft during Operation Orchard and the affected area of Syrian air defense systems as of 2007.
Shortly before the start of the operation, a detachment of Israeli special forces in the form of the Syrian army was landed in the target area from a helicopter. The special forces were supposed to illuminate the target with a laser designator, most likely, it was the Shaldag Air Force special forces, whose fighters undergo special training for such missions. Prior to this, the Israeli intelligence unit had already allegedly landed in the area to collect soil samples in order to identify radioactive substances. After the successful destruction of the Syrian facility, all Israeli soldiers who were illegally in the SAR were safely evacuated by helicopter. According to media reports, Israeli warplanes struck with 500-pound guided bombs and AGM-65 Maverick missiles.
The return path of the F-15I after they inflicted a missile and bomb strike is not reliably known. But it can be assumed that the planes, hiding behind active interference, retreated in a westerly direction, cutting off the rest of the route over Syria and Turkey towards the Mediterranean Sea. This route made it possible to bypass most of the positions of the Syrian air defense systems in the north-west of the country. Given the distance traveled and the time spent in the air, it seems likely that on return, the Israeli F-15Is refueled in the air over the Mediterranean Sea.
Later it became known that Israeli pilots were insured by American warships with helicopters on board in case of emergency rescue near the territorial waters of Syria. It follows from this that the Americans were aware of what was happening. If we disregard the political overtones and the violation by Israel of international law, we can note the highest level of professionalism of the Israeli military, shown during this operation.
Oddly enough, the Israeli airstrike on the Syrian site did not cause much resonance. The first information about the Israeli air raid appeared on CNN. The next day, Turkish media reported on the discovery of Israeli aviation outboard fuel tanks in the Hatay and Gaziantep areas, and the Turkish foreign minister made an official protest to the Israeli ambassador. That said, Israeli and American officials declined to comment. Later, President George W. Bush wrote in his memoirs that in a telephone conversation with Olmert, he suggested that this operation be kept secret for a while, and then made public in order to put pressure on the Syrian government. But Olmert asked for complete secrecy, wanting to avoid publicity, fearing that this could trigger a new round of escalation between Syria and Israel, and provoke a Syrian retaliatory strike.
The first public recognition by a senior Israeli official came on September 19, when opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu announced his support for the operation and congratulated Prime Minister Olmert on its successful completion. Prior to that, on September 17, Prime Minister Olmert announced that he was ready to conclude peace with Syria: "without preconditions and without ultimatums." On October 28, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert announced at a meeting of the Israeli government that he had apologized to Recep Tayyip Erdogan for Israel's possible violation of Turkish airspace.
Syrian officials issued a statement saying air defense forces fired on Israeli planes that dropped bombs in the desert. In an address to the UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon, it was declared about "violation of the airspace of the Syrian Arab Republic" and said: "This is not the first time Israel has violated the airspace of Syria."
Pictures of the alleged Syrian nuclear facility before and after the bombing
After making public the facts of Syria's cooperation in the nuclear sphere with Iran and the DPRK, the Syrian leadership came under strong pressure from the international community for the admission of international inspectors to its territory. In June 2008, an IAEA expert team visited the bombed site. The Syrians did their best to get rid of the evidence. First of all, they removed all the debris of the blown up building and filled the entire site with concrete. The inspectors were told that the site was a conventional weapons factory prior to the Israeli airstrike, not a nuclear reactor, which they would be required to report to the IAEA. The Syrians also insisted that foreigners had not previously participated in the construction of the destroyed facility. In soil samples taken during the inspection, the presence of uranium was detected. But to all accusations, the Syrians replied that the uranium was in Israeli aviation munitions used in the bombing. At the time of the arrival of the inspectors, a new one was built on the site of the destroyed building.
Satellite image of Google earth: a newly erected building on the site of one destroyed in an airstrike, as of 2013.
As can be seen in the satellite image, the new building was damaged during the fighting between the Syrian government forces and the rebels. As of early 2015, the area was controlled by Islamic State militants. If the radioactive materials of the operating reactor fell into the hands of the Islamists, the consequences could be very grave. To create a "dirty bomb" does not require special knowledge and high technology.
It is still not clear what the destroyed Syrian object in the desert was, and not everything is clear with the details of the operation. Some sources indicate that some time after the bombing, Israeli special forces again visited the area in order to collect soil samples. But whether this is actually so is unknown, Israeli officials are still silent.
Having analyzed the known facts, I would venture to suggest that the destroyed facility was not intended for the direct production of nuclear weapons. Plutonium production from a reactor of this size would be minimal, and Syria lacked the necessary infrastructure to extract it from spent fuel. Perhaps it was about a purely research reactor, on which it was planned to work out the methodology and technology. Apparently, the reactor, if of course it was really a reactor, had not yet been put into operation, otherwise it would have been impossible to hide the radioactive contamination of the area.
After September 6, 2007, the Syrian leadership was seriously concerned about strengthening its air defense system. A contract was signed with Russia for the supply of MiG-29 fighters, Buk-M2E and S-300PMU-2 air defense systems, Pantsir-S1 air defense missile systems and the modernization of part of the existing S-125M1A low-altitude air defense systems to the level of C-125-2M Pechora- 2M . In the PRC, modern radar stations for lighting the air situation were purchased. Subsequently, for a reason not announced by the Russian leadership, the contract for the S-300PMU-2 was canceled, although the Russian industry had already begun to fulfill it. At the moment, the air defense system of Syria has a pronounced focal character and the inviolability of the air borders of this country is largely ensured by the presence of the Russian Aerospace Forces group.
Some experts are inclined to believe that one of the goals of Operation Orchard was to warn Iran and demonstrate Israel's determination to prevent its hostile neighbors from acquiring nuclear weapons.
Tehran drew several conclusions from what happened. After the Israeli raid on Syria, an attempt was made to radically strengthen its own air defense by purchasing modern systems from Russia. But under pressure from the United States and Israel, the Russian leadership then canceled the contract for the S-300P. A positive decision on this issue was made relatively recently, and the first elements of the Russian anti-aircraft missile system were delivered only in 2016. In addition, Iran began to hide the uranium enrichment centrifuges under construction in deep underground tunnels, where they became inaccessible for guaranteed destruction even with the heaviest anti-bunker bombs.
At the end of the publication, in order to avoid accusations of approving Israel's actions towards its neighbors from a certain part of the site's visitors, I want to make a reservation right away - I in no way support the murder of Arabs by the Israeli military and police and regular air and artillery strikes inflicted on the territory of Syria and Lebanon. However, I also have an extremely negative attitude to the "knife intifada", to terrorist acts and rocket attacks on Israeli territory. But whether someone likes it or not, there is a lot to learn from the Israelis, in particular, real patriotism, how to defend their homeland in practice, not in words, defend the national interests of the country and ruthlessly and consistently destroy terrorists, regardless of momentary political situation.
I also express my gratitude for the suggested topic and help in writing this article to Oleg Sokolov, a citizen of the State of Israel, known on the site as a "professor" - a very contradictory person and not always easy to communicate, but, of course, having a broad outlook and a lively mind.
