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Originally Posted by Tashah  The IAF does have a limited capability to refuel attack craft in flight. If my math is correct, such an operation would lie on the very edge of doability. That is why IAF rescue helicopters (SAR) are also participating in the training missions.
There is yet another component that is critical in this and that is overflight permissions. Israel wound never have been able to do the Entebbe raid without the assistence of Kenya. The way I see it, these overflight permissions would have to be obtained from Turkey and the United States for the refueling to occur and to obtain the proper IFF codes. Turkey and Israel already cooperate very closely in both intelligence operations and joint military excercises. I believe that Jordan would not interfere with such an IAF operation. The wild card here would most likely be the US (in regards to Iraqi airspace). |
When I read this thread, I took a looksie at a map, and figured that if you got to get the IAF all over Iran in one shot, thats alot of flight hours to get in country, drop bombs on target, confirm your strike and get back home. Mid-air refueling capacity is going to play a large role in just having the gas to do it, and then you have to factor in fatigue on the return trip. I would say its pushing the limits, and would only be considered if the threat was felt to be imminent.
Yeah, and pilots do tend to be a little pushy about their IFF codes during combat
. During the invasion of Iraq, I had to issue, track, collect, and destroy the manual/oral codes that the aircrew take with them, in case of a mode 4 failure. Plus handling the loaded codes. Its not fun having to tell your CO that he can't take the plane because of a simple code error, but the Patriot batteries at the edge of the base make for a good reminder.
