Warplanes: May 21, 2002

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To deal with Hizbollah terrorist operations on the Lebanese border, Israel keeps at least two helicopter gunships (AH-1 Cobras or AH-64 Apaches) ready to take off on ten minutes notice. Chances of catching Hizbollah men in the act of launching rockets at Israeli targets are remote, as the rockets are either launched from occupied villages or using timers. But getting gunships into the air quickly enables the Israelis to catch any Hizbollah forces that might be out in the open. This forces the Hizbollah to restrict their operations when they make a rocket or mortar attack. What the Israelis fear is the increasing number of anti-aircraft guns and surface to air missiles in the area. Israel fears that the Hizbollah may have the Russian SA-14 shoulder fired SAM, a missile capable of damaging, or even bringing down, an AH-64.

 

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