[Dr. Aaron Lerner - IMRA: Question: Do Israeli defense officials who
recommend a peace treaty with Syria comprehend that after the signing
ceremony that the U.S. will arm Syria to the teeth - as it did with Egypt/}
recommend a peace treaty with Syria comprehend that after the signing
ceremony that the U.S. will arm Syria to the teeth - as it did with Egypt/}
Damascus set to receive MiG 31E planes
Yaakov Katz , THE JERUSALEM POST Mar. 29, 2009
www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1237727563406&pagename=JPArticle%2FShowFull
Damascus will take receipt of advanced MiG 31E fighter jets in the near
future, the outgoing head of the Pentagon's Defense Intelligence Agency
Lt.-Gen. Michael D. Maples told the Senate earlier this month.
Reports of the sale surfaced in 2007 but were quickly denied by Moscow and
the official state arms-trading monopoly Rosoboronexport, which issued a
statement saying "Russia has no plans to deliver fighter jets to Syria."
In his testimony "annual threat assessment" to the Senate Armed Services
Committee, Maples provided the first official confirmation that the advanced
fighter jets will be delivered to Damascus soon.
"With regard to its external defense, Syria's military remains in a
defensive posture and inferior to Israel's forces, but it is upgrading its
missile, rocket, antitank, aircraft and air defense inventories," Maples
told the committee. "Recent Syrian contracts with Russia for future delivery
include new MiG-31 and MiG-29M/M2 fighter aircraft."
Israeli defense officials said they were not surprised by Russia's intention
to sell Syria the advanced jets but expressed concern that if the deal went
through it would alter the balance of power in the region.
"Syria currently has an obsolete air force based on outdated MiGs," one
official explained. "If Syria gets new MiG 31s then this will pose a
definite threat to our air force."
The contract will be the first export deal for the MiG-31E, a heavy
twin-engine interceptor fighter capable of flying at nearly three times the
speed of sound and simultaneously shooting several targets at ranges of up
to 180 km.
The aircraft was designed in the 1980s for tackling low-flying cruise
missiles and other difficult targets and remains the mainstay of Russia's
air defenses. The MiG-31 was considered a key component of defenses against
a possible US attack.
Damascus will also receive a number of MiG-29M fighters - a version that
features a significantly improved range, has an improved radar and carries a
broader array of weapons compared to basic MiG-29 model.
In his testimony, Maples also referred to Syria's development of chemical
and biological weapons. He said that Damascus did not have a biological
weapon but was at the stage where it knew how to manufacture one.
"Based on the duration of Syria's long-standing biological warfare program,
we judge some elements of the program may have advanced beyond the research
and development stage and may be capable of limited agent production," he
said. "Syria is not known to have successfully weaponized biological agents
in an effective delivery system, but it possesses a number of conventional
and chemical weapon systems that could easily be modified for biological
agent delivery."
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IMRA - Independent Media Review and Analysis
Website: www.imra.org.il
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