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INDO-ISRAELI JOINT AIR EXERCISES An IDC Analysis (With inputs from Sayan Majumdar) New Delhi, 24 January 2005 We have several times highlighted the India–Israel ties between the Indian armed forces and the Israeli defence industry and armed forces. The Israeli’s may not salute smartly or call their superiors “Sir” as often as we do, but they deliver and most of our senior officers who have been to Israel were well looked after and enlightened professionally. India’s Home Ministry leans on Israel to combat terrorism. DRDO scientists’ and Indian service men acknowledge that the military, naval, aviation and missile technology that Israel possesses, is second to none –– they supply the US, UK, Singapore and Australian Armed Forces with many of their radars, Barak missiles, EW systems and upgrades. They are experts at upgrades and have even upgraded the F16 and helped Indian Air Force in upgrading the SU 30 MKI and other aircraft and they are front-runners to upgrade the Navy’s Sea Harriers and Sea Kings. The IAF’s IL 78 refuelling engine and drogue are of Israeli supply and appear to be doing well, and mid air refuelling and is to be displayed at the Republic Day Parade this year. IAI, Tadiran and Rafael have tie-ups with us and even go betweens are happy dealing with Israeli companies. With this background and an Indo–Israeli multi-national air exercise round the corner, we have attempted an updated account of the Israeli air combat skills especially focusing on their within visual range missiles and tactics. We also present data on the Israeli air-to-air missile development programs such as Python 5 and Derby. The Indian Air Force and Israeli Air Force are both referred to as IAF, so we have used IAF to denote the Indian Air Force and Israeli AF for the Israelis. Having scored a few decisive edges over the French Armee de l'Air and United States Air Force (USAF) in the multi-national air exercises at Gwalior during 2003 and 2004 respectively, the IAF now faces the toughest challenge in their forthcoming multi-national air exercises with the IDF/Heyl Ha’Avir (Israeli Air Force) especially in the Within Visual Range (WVR) combat arena. The Israelis have established themselves as masters of WVR combat in numerous Arab–Israeli air-combats during the second half of the past century with an impressive combat experience second to none. This impressive attribute is effectively backed up by a highly sophisticated and rigorous training schedule of extensive flight-hours. Israel like India is surrounded by hostile nations and thus its air force have always put strong emphasis in WVR (Within Visual Range) combat, since the belligerent air bases are located nearby which makes WVR combat scenarios a certainty. Traditionally it always possessed one of the best WVR Air-to-Air Missiles (AAM). Dissatisfied by the early models of United States AIM-9 Sidewinder it developed its “wide body” Shafrir (Dragonfly) around a Cassegrain optical system behind a large hemispherical nose. The body diameter was substantially increased to enhance many aspects of the design and lethality. The design was sound and an improved Shafrir 2 entered Israeli AF service in 1969 and by 1983 recorded an impressive “score” of destruction of over 200 enemy aircraft with over 100 recorded in the October 1973 Yom Kippur war. In addition surprise was the key “Israeli element” during these encounters with classic slashing attacks out from behind a cloud or “out of sun” into a firing pass leaving very little duration or room for the adversary to react. In a significant encounter over Egyptian airspace on July 30 1970, Shafrir 2s fired from a group of Israeli F-4 Phantom and Mirage III was credited with destruction of five Soviet MiG-21MFs detached from Soviet Frontovaya Aviatsiya (Frontal Aviation) assets of Hungary for defence of critical Egyptian installations. This single encounter prompted the Soviets to shift their emphasis to installation of robust Surface-to-Air Missile (SAM) systems for their expeditionary duties in the Middle East. However along with Combat Air Patrols (CAP) provided by MiG-21s (with Sukhoi-15 ‘Flagon’ a possible option) the Soviet air defence network restricted the Israeli air operations over Egypt to a significant extent. Interestingly the Israeli Air Force always held a firm respect for the Russian MiG designs without any room for complacency and on basis of that consistently maintained a high kill-to-loss ratio against the frequent adversary. The Israeli AF was also repeatedly frustrated by high-altitude overflights by the MiG-25 Foxbat-B reconnaissance models of the Soviet Expeditionary Force between October 1971 and March 1972. The Soviet MiG-25Rs based at Cairo covered the Israeli-held coastline Haifa to Port Said and flew the length of Sinai Peninsula involving 500-km penetration of the Israeli airspace. With a speed of Mach 2.5 to 2.8 at a cruising altitude of 80,000-ft they successfully evaded the formidable Israeli defences including F-4 Phantoms thus gathering valuable “real time“ intelligence and transmitting them to ground-stations through secure data-links for further analysis. During the later half of the 1970s the Israeli AF underwent extensive transformation. The F-15 Eagle entered service in 1976 to be followed by F-16s in 1980 and importantly the E-2C Hawkeye Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) platforms. New tactics and operational procedures were rapidly developed. Along with Shafrir 2 its successor the Python 3 was inducted. Python 3 had a slightly tapered body housing an Infra Red (IR) seeker cell of exceptional sensitivity and wider look-angle in relation to contemporary technology, with a large delta canard controls and was regarded superior in most aspects to the contemporary models such as AIM-9L Sidewinder. The effect of newer generation fighters and AWACS platforms and other “enhancements” were apparent during the war between Israel and Syria over Beka'a Valley in 1982, when the Israelis mercilessly decimated the Syrian Air Force with their excellent battle management system. The Israeli example in Beka’a valley is often considered the classic exploitation of AWACS asymmetry since the Syrians did not posses such a system. The Syrian Air Force in an attempt to provide air cover to facilitate deployment of Syrian SAM units on Beka’a valley were overwhelmed by an “array” of Israeli E-2C ‘Hawkeye‘ AWACS platforms, static balloons, RF-4E reconnaissance fighters, OV-1 ‘Mohawk‘ battlefield surveillance platforms and specially equipped Boeing RC-707s. Additionally all the Israeli fighters had data-links to process real time information and also the excellent combination of Shafrir 2, Python 3 and AIM-9L "all aspect" WVR missiles. The Syrian data-links were effectively jammed. The Syrian fighters were tracked as soon as they left the runaway and the Israelis enjoyed the vital tactical advantage of surprise. The result was the loss of over 80 Syrian aircraft as against 2 Israeli fighters –– 36 of the Syrian fighters were MiG-23s. Israeli pilot Amir Nahumi was registered as the first "F-16 ace" as having opened his "account" in 1981, he followed it up with six more victories in Beka'a Valley. Python 3 incidentally was credited with over 35 Syrian aircraft kills during the Beka’a Valley campaign. During June 1982 two Syrian MiG-25 Foxbat-A were destroyed by the Israeli Air Force with carefully planned and executed “snap up” attack by F-15/AIM-7 Sparrow combination emphasizing the maturity of the BVR tactics and procedures of the Israeli AF pilots. The Israeli Air Force remains the only air power to shoot down the formidable MiG-25 interceptor. As the newer generation of Russian MiG-29 fighters with Helmet Mounted Sight (HMS) mated with R-73 (AA-11 Archer) missiles with considerable off-boresight capability and were transferred to Syria during mid 1980s, the Israelis identified the threat seriously and embarked on a crash development of Python 4 mated with third generation Display And Sight Helmet (DASH) intended to "catch up" if not exceed the specified parameters. Python 4 was in operational service by 1994 and with numerous canard control surfaces and destabilisers was designed around an Israeli AF philosophy of a visual identification pass coupled with a close-in High Off-Boresight Angle (HOBA) capability missile. Python 4 has IR (infrared) seekers with the ability to look 90-degrees off-boresight with a lateral "squint" capability and a powerful 6-inch diameter rocket motor that gives it more impulse to get through the energy sapping manoeuvres of a HOBA launch, with enough speed remaining for good kill distance. The Python 4 thrust is low initially to let the missile turn large angles at relatively slow speed before accelerating for the chase. The long burn motor has a tailored thrust profile to achieve optimal acceleration for close-in closing engagements and high energy for terminal phase homing or end game engagement. Python 4 can be launched at a range of over 15-km, and the missile employs a blast fragmentation warhead, which is triggered by an active laser proximity fuse with a backup impact fuse. Python 4 is effectively mated with Elbit developed third generation DASH helmet mounted sight (HMS) for optimum performance and lethality. It was no surprise that in 2000 when United States Marine Corps (USMC) F/A-18 Hornets from Balkans theatre armed with standard models of AIM-9 Sidewinder engaged in mock air combats with Israeli AF fighters armed with Python 3 and Python 4 missiles in conjunction with DASH helmet mounted sight, they were “handled roughly” by the Israeli fighters. The Israelis prevailed in 220 out of 240 engagements. Interestingly, Python 4 is rumoured to be in service with the Indian Air Force but never officially confirmed. Under development is the "fifth-generation" Python 5 with Mach 4 speed and 20-km range, “360 degrees capability” facilitated by Lock-On After Launch capability, to deal with rear hemisphere threats. More importantly the missile seeker uses 'staring focal plane array seeker' technology that was first introduced in the US AIM-9X Sidewinder that has inherently better Infra-Red Counter Counter Measures (IRCCM) and is readily programmable for new IRCCM techniques in future. This particular staring focal plane array technology provides greater ability to reject flares and other countermeasures. The extended range with Lock-On After Launch mode gives it an added NBVR (Near Beyond Visual Range) capability to its inherent WVR capability. Like Python 4 the fuselage of Python 5 consists of dual canards and rear fins with an improved motor. It now has a dual-wavelength, focal plane array-imaging seeker, able to acquire low-signature targets even in look-down mode, against adverse backgrounds and possibly has discriminatory capability against multiple targets. It also incorporates advanced computer architecture, inertial navigation system Infra-Red Counter Counter Measures (IRCCM) and flight-control algorithms. The newly inducted Pratt & Whitney F100-PW-229 powered F-16I Sufa (Storm) has been earmarked to receive the new Python 5 in addition to AIM-120 AMRAAM as the first unit, the Negev Squadron, which was reformed at Ramon on July 27, 2003 to operate the two-seat example. Israel's Peace Marble V foreign military sales program will supply the Israel Air Force with 102 F-16I based on current Block 50/52 production aircraft. The next unit to reequip with the Sufa will be the Orange Tail Knights Squadron, also at Ramon, followed by the Bat Squadron. The F-16I was developed on the basis of the F-16ES (Enhanced Strategic) long-range interdictor F-16 proposal. The Israeli F-16I enhances Israel's deterrent strategy by further strengthening the potential threat to carry out retaliatory strikes throughout the Middle East thanks to Conformal Fuel Tanks (CFT). The Northrop Grumman AN/APG-68(V)9 multimode radar increases the distance of airborne engagement by 30-percent over the older APG-69 system and affords the "Sufa" with a high-resolution synthetic-aperture ground mapping capability. As the Israeli AF has expressed its interest to exercise with the IAF Sukhoi-30MKI, the Indians also should ensure that the Israelis bring their latest F-16I acquisition. Perhaps for the first time in history an enhanced lightweight fighter in shape of F-16I is selected "over" a heavyweight air dominance fighter (F-15I) for stretegic strike role. This novel concept should evoke interest in the IAF. Another high-profile 50-km ranged Active-Radar Homing (ARH) AAM referred to as Alto or Derby shares design commonality with Python 4, with the addition of mid-body wings. Derby may have already entered service with the Israeli Air Force and is scheduled to arm the Indian Navy Sea Harriers in due course. Derby has Look-Down/Shoot-Down capability and advanced programmable ECCM to operate under dense electronic warfare environments. For BVR engagements a Lock-On After Launch mode is adopted in which the missile employs inertial guidance immediately after launch until the seeker is activated and homes in on the target. Derby also has a very low minimum range and an option for lock-on before launch mode and is thus also capable of being employed for short-range engagements. In the Lock-On Before Launch for short-range engagements, Derby's seeker can be slaved to the aircraft's radar or the pilot's helmet mounted cueing system. The seeker is activated before launch and guides the missile all the way to the target. The warhead and proximity fuse shares commonality with that of Python 4. It can be stated with certainty that the forthcoming Indo–Israeli Air Combat Exercise will bring out the best among the “rival” pilots, technicians and battle planners. Still the IAF Sukhoi-30MKI enjoys a significant “first-look/first-shoot” advantage with the N-011M Bars airborne radar and RVV-AE (AA-12 Adder) and R-27ER (AA-10 Alamo-C) AAMs. The electronic warfare suites of both Indian and Israeli fighters (often common) are set to play a significant role and if the Israelis bring in a PHALCON force-multiplier platform, more factors will come into play. However from both the Indian and Israeli sides sufficient stress may be given to inter-operability for keeping in mind the development of possible military scenarios and compulsions of the future. Air Forces and establishments of numerous nations will watch the outcome of this exercise keenly.

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