By Paul Iddon
What an Imperial Iranian covert operation against the Soviet Union can tell us about the controversial circumstances surrounding the recent downing of the Turkish F-4 jet by Syria.
Syria and Turkey have made diverging claims -- to say the least -- regarding the recent downing by Syrian air defences of a Turkish Air Force RF-4E Phantom II jet. Turkey whilst conceding the jet did in fact briefly 'accidentally' violate Syrian airspace has continually insisted that the jet was downed illegally over international waters.
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has went as far as to assert that the jet was flying in the same corridor of Syrian airspace that was used by the Israeli Air Force during its strike against a suspected clandestine Syrian nuclear facility in 2007.
Reports have indicated that in cahoots with the CIA the Turks were performing reconnaissance missions to determine the status of Syria's air defense, hence probing it for any blind spots which could be potentially exploited.
Such intelligence would be essential if NATO is to fight a war with Syria.
These circumstances are reminiscent of operations the Shah's Iran undertook against the Soviet Union in cahoots with the CIA throughout the 1970's?
Project Ibex and Dark Gene
In the 1970s the CIA and the Imperial Iranian Air Force ran a program of aerial espionage from air bases in Iran. The purpose of this operation was to probe the Soviet air defences on its frontier with Persia and determine if any holes existed in their radar coverage -- which could be used in the future, be it for further covert action, or to take advantage of in the case of a war with the USSR.
The Americans even devised a plan whereby they would get Iranian pilots to fly the jets during the reconnaissance missions with their American instructor remaining in the backseat, so if they were forced to land or eject due to detection and interception by Soviet forces they could claim that they had simply gotten lost during a training exercise.
Indeed, there was notable confrontation during one of these operations that saw to a Soviet MiG-21 purposely ramming (after its missiles and guns failed to function) an RF-4C -- killing its Soviet pilot in the process -- in order to down it. The two crew-members of the RF-4C, an Iranian Air Force Major and 'backseater' United States Air Force Colonel survived and were detained for 16 days by Soviet authorities.
These projects are well worth reading into as they are strikingly similar to the circumstances surrounding the downing of that Turkish reconnaissance RF-4E. It may in fact soon become evident that the Turkish Air Force was conducting a strikingly similar mission against their southern neighbour when their RF-4E was shot down.
What an Imperial Iranian covert operation against the Soviet Union can tell us about the controversial circumstances surrounding the recent downing of the Turkish F-4 jet by Syria.
Turkish Air Force F-4
Syria and Turkey have made diverging claims -- to say the least -- regarding the recent downing by Syrian air defences of a Turkish Air Force RF-4E Phantom II jet. Turkey whilst conceding the jet did in fact briefly 'accidentally' violate Syrian airspace has continually insisted that the jet was downed illegally over international waters.
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has went as far as to assert that the jet was flying in the same corridor of Syrian airspace that was used by the Israeli Air Force during its strike against a suspected clandestine Syrian nuclear facility in 2007.
Reports have indicated that in cahoots with the CIA the Turks were performing reconnaissance missions to determine the status of Syria's air defense, hence probing it for any blind spots which could be potentially exploited.
Such intelligence would be essential if NATO is to fight a war with Syria.
These circumstances are reminiscent of operations the Shah's Iran undertook against the Soviet Union in cahoots with the CIA throughout the 1970's?
Project Ibex and Dark Gene
In the 1970s the CIA and the Imperial Iranian Air Force ran a program of aerial espionage from air bases in Iran. The purpose of this operation was to probe the Soviet air defences on its frontier with Persia and determine if any holes existed in their radar coverage -- which could be used in the future, be it for further covert action, or to take advantage of in the case of a war with the USSR.
Imperial Iranian Air Force F-4 (ejection-history.org.uk)
The Americans even devised a plan whereby they would get Iranian pilots to fly the jets during the reconnaissance missions with their American instructor remaining in the backseat, so if they were forced to land or eject due to detection and interception by Soviet forces they could claim that they had simply gotten lost during a training exercise.
Indeed, there was notable confrontation during one of these operations that saw to a Soviet MiG-21 purposely ramming (after its missiles and guns failed to function) an RF-4C -- killing its Soviet pilot in the process -- in order to down it. The two crew-members of the RF-4C, an Iranian Air Force Major and 'backseater' United States Air Force Colonel survived and were detained for 16 days by Soviet authorities.
These projects are well worth reading into as they are strikingly similar to the circumstances surrounding the downing of that Turkish reconnaissance RF-4E. It may in fact soon become evident that the Turkish Air Force was conducting a strikingly similar mission against their southern neighbour when their RF-4E was shot down.
