iscover
J79 powered IAI Kfir C2 rotates, Israeli Air Force pilots enjoy a 40:1 kill ratio against the Arab air armsin air to air combat.
World’s Smallest Superpower
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After 40 centuries it’s great to be 30. So proclaimed the billboard astride the six-lane highway leading from Israel International Airport to bustling Tel Aviv. I had to stifle a grin at the originality of such a slogan designed to tell the world of this little state’s “official” birthday, its 30th since gaining independence in May 1948. Humour aside though it is interesting to note that Israel is the only nation on Earth that was home to the same people speaking the same Hebrew language some 2000 years before Christ. Still, it’s great to be 30!
Our visit to Israel was prompted by a long standing interest in their more recent history, in particular the manner in which the Israeli Defence Forces manage to consistently demolish outside aggressors. In the past 30 years they have fought four major wars and won them all. Unfortunately they usually manage to lose the peace as the ever potent oil weapon arises to exert its international muscle. During those 30 years Israel has learnt many lessons, the most important of which is that in order to survive it must be totally independent. Independence can of course mean many things – fuel, food, water, secondary production, minerals and most importantly armaments.
It has only been in recent years that the United States has backed Israel both monetarily with aid and practically with weapons acquisition. During the first three wars the Americans, like the British, were conspicuous by their absence despite the ever growing Russian presence in surrounding Arab states. France was the major supplier to Israel through the precarious ’50s and ’60s, indeed the incredible exploits of IDF Mirage’s in the ’67 conflict helped sell large numbers of this versatile fighter. With overt courting by wealthy Arab states De Gaulle was eventually persuaded to shift his allegiance to the Arab cause, effectively cutting off Israel’s primary source of modern armaments and in particular the Mirage. Israel had ordered an additional fifty fully paid for Mirages only to have them impounded on the eve of the Six lsrael Day War in 1967
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