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Aviation History
1990
1990 - 1590.PDF
OPER ATIows: DEFENCE Israeli Cobras were based only a few minutes from the incident Israeli Air Force helps foil PLF assault on holiday beaches BY ARIE EGOZI IN TEL AVIV The Israeli Air Force (IAF) played a major role in the combined operation that foiled an attempt by the Palestinian Liberation Front (PLF) to make a large-scale attack on holiday- makers and Tel Aviv's beach front hotels during a national holiday. The combined-forces opera tion on 30 May ended with the killing of four guerillas and cap ture of the other 12. The PLF mother ship left Benghazi in Libya on 27 May. In the early morning of 30 May the ship deployed six GRP (glass re inforced plastic) Picolo 8 speed boats 160km (lOOnm) off the Israeli coast. One boat was dam aged and sank on launching and two later had mechanical prob lems. The crews transferred to the two remaining attack boats. The third boat carried spare fuel. The boats, capable of 35kt (65km/h), were equipped with 23mm cannon and rocket launchers. At 07.00 an Israeli Navy Dabur-class fast patrol boat intercepted one of the attack boats 16km (lOnm) north of Tel Aviv. The five on board surren dered. A second speedboat was spotted by an IAF Dornier DO.28, used by the Air Force for scout missions. This vessel was intercepted by a patrol boat, which opened fire on the speed boat as it approached a crowded beach at Nizanim, 48km south of Tell Aviv. Israeli fire was limited because of the crowds on the beach and the PLF boat reached the shore. Minutes after the eleven guerillas from this boat landed, two IAF Bell AH-1 Cobra attack helicopters arrived and spotted the PLF force hiding in the bushes covering the dunes near the water line. Four of this group were killed immediately by the Cobra's 20mm cannon. The guerillas' armament included SA-7 Grail shoulder-launched surface-to-air missiles but they did not use them. The Cobra gunfire kept the remaining seven guerillas pinned down in place until quick-reaction Special Forces unites were flown in by CH-53 Stallions to capture them. Parallel to the encounter on the beach, IAF Westwind Seascan maritime-recon naissance aircraft found the other two PLF speedboats aban doned because of mechanical problems. These were later brought ashore. The mother ship and the refuelling speedboat headed for Egyptian waters and escaped. The PLF prisoners said that the raid took three months to plan. • Saudi CSS-2 missil Chinese CSS-2 long-range surface-to-surface missiles acquired by Saudi Arabia are now operational and deployed on two separate sites, according to the Israeli intelligence service. Each of the sites has four to six concrete launcher pads and approximately 60 missiles are stored in shelters at each site. Israel says that one CSS-2 site is at Al-Sulaiyil, 500km south of the capital Riyad; the other is at Al-Joffer, 100km south of the capital. The CSS-2s, procured by the Saudis in 1987, have a range of 2,700km (l,450nm). The single-stage missile first entered operational service in China in 1971 and was designed to carry nuclear warheads. Israel says that the missiles supplied to Saudi Arabia are equipped with con ventional warheads. Israeli intelligence says that Pakistan played a major role in the negotiations that ended in the Chinese-Saudi CSS-2 deal. While the procurement of the CSS-2s is not clearly understood in the context of the Saudi geo political situation, say the Israe lis, it is clear that the Saudis are making a special effort to achieve a strategic capability. The Royal Saudi Air Force operates two squadrons of Panavia Tornado IDSs and one squadron of Tor- FINLAND SIGNS FOR CROTALE NG The Finnish and French governments have signed a contract for the supply of Thomson-CSF Crotale Nouvelle Generation (NG) surface-to-air missile system to the Finnish armed forces. French Defence Minister Gerard Renon and his Finnish counterpart Gen Pajunan signed late last month the accord to buy an undisclosed number of the most recent Crotale variant. The series 4000 missile incorporates a microwave link between the system's radar command post and fire units. This allows spacing between command post and fire units to be increased from 800m to 3km. Soviets withdraw from Mongolia The final stage of a 75% reduc tion in the number of Soviet troops based in Mongolia has started to get underway. The forces, first deployed in 1967, are scheduled to be com pletely witdrawn by 1992. During this stage the USSR is withdrawing 190 aircraft, 130 helicopters, 850 main battle tanks, 1,100 armoured vehicles, 820 artillery systems and 50,000 personnel. The military is handing over all nine airfields, 55 bases plus stores in place and some 6,800 houses and flats to the Mon golians free of charge. • 12 FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL 6-12 June 1990
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