Israel has learned from “foreign sources” that Syria is now in possession of advanced Soviet ground-to-air missiles and that the Syrian Air Force and tank strength have doubled since the 1967 Six-Day War, it was disclosed here today.
The source said that Russia is maintaining an “open hand” policy toward Syria with respect to arms and ammunition and has increased its arms supplies to that country since last year.
According to the sources, Syria has received the sophisticated Soviet-made SAM-6 missile, a development of the SAM-6 which has a range of 30 kilometers and modern homing devices. The missiles are part of Syria’s anti-aircraft defense system and are deployed around Damascus and along the Israeli-Syrian demarcation lines east of the Golan Heights.
The Syrian Air Force now consists of 300 combat-ready planes compared to 150 in 1967 and the Syrian tank force has more than doubled from 550 six years ago to 1200 at present.
According to the sources. SAM-6 missiles have been-sent to Egypt also.
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.
