Israeli media reported on Sunday that the Israeli air force has started practicing rapid refueling, the type of which would only be used in a sustained aerial attack on a distant enemy. The process involves Israeli warplanes sent on raids thousands of miles away returning to Israel, landing and refueling without shutting off their engines in order to get back in the air as fast as possible. Naturally, rapid refueling of this type is very risky, since the fuel is being pumped not far from the jet's engines. Revelation that Israel is doing this kind of training came just a...
BEIRUT -- Lebanon says its army has opened fire on four Israeli warplanes that flew into Lebanese airspace. The Lebanese army said in a statement that its units used anti-aircraft fire Sunday to force the Israeli warplanes out of Lebanese airspace. The army said the planes were in southern Lebanon and the Bekaa Valley in the central Lebanon. Israeli warplanes frequently fly over Lebanese airspace in what Israel says are reconnaissance missions. The overflights have been a constant source of tension between the two countries. Sunday's events come amid heightened tensions in the Middle East following some of the sharpest...
Israeli warplanes bombed several sites in southern Gaza overnight in response to rocket fire from the Hamas-run enclave, the army and Palestinian medics said on Wednesday. No one was wounded or killed in the strikes, which destroyed an abandoned building in Gaza's only airport, according to medics. The airport was shut down and largely destroyed after the outbreak of the 2000 Palestinian uprising, or intifada, and has not been used since. The attacks came in response to rocket fire from the impoverished enclave over the past several days, the army said in a statement. The rocket fire did not cause...
The prime ministers of Turkey and Lebanon on Monday lashed out at Israeli violations of Lebanese airspace and air strikes in Gaza, warning they were undermining prospects for peace in the region. "Attacks on Lebanon is terrorism itself... We have to stand shoulder by shoulder against the enemy's plans... We have to stop Israel," visiting Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri told a press conference. Lebanese anti-aircraft guns opened fire on four Israeli warplanes which were violating its airspace at low altitude on Monday, the military said. Israel argues that the overflights are necessary to monitor what it says is massive...
Arab states, particularly in the Gulf, are seeking to build up their air power and missile defenses to counter any challenger from Iran. Mostly they're looking to their traditional arms suppliers in the West, the United States, Britain and France, but Russia is pushing hard for a piece of the action. This year's biennial Dubai air show, which opened Sunday in the United Arab Emirates, provided a showcase for the latest technology on offer. Air power has been the deciding factor in most Middle Eastern conflicts since the 1967 Arab-Israeli conflict, when Israeli warplanes annihilated the air forces of Egypt,...
Sunday, February 28, 2010
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