State Department officials conceded today that Sen. Henry M. Jackson was correct when he said the Arab states outnumbered Israel six to one in jet aircraft but maintained that the pilot-to-aircraft ratio “sharply favors” the Israelis. They suggested that the Egyptians had the preponderance of planes but not enough pilots trained to fly them. They refused to speculate whether the large number of Russian pilots in Egypt changed the ratio substantially. Sen. Jackson. a Washington Democrat, said yesterday that there were 200 trained Soviet pilots in Egypt and 100 Russians of Admiral and General rank in that country. The officials said that his figures for high-ranking Soviet officers and combat pilots were on the high side but agreed with his report of 600 Soviet supersonic jets in Egypt and Syria. They said there was nothing new in those figures. The officials maintained that the Soviet pilots were in Egypt for training purposes but have been known to fly actual combat missions before the Sues cease-fire went into effect last Aug. 9.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
