American Military Believed Interested in Captured Soviet-built Radar Unit

The Weizmann Institute of Science issued a denial today that it was studying a top secret Soviet built radar unit that Israeli commandos brought back intact from Egypt after a raid on the Ras Ghareb coastal defense station near the Gulf of Suez a week ago. The seven-ton unit, one of the most modern pieces of Soviet equipment in Egypt, was airlifted into Israeli territory by cargo helicopter after it was carefully cut into two sections of manageable size. The institute emphasized that it does not engage in “secret arms research.”

Meanwhile it was learned that the Israel Government expects United States military authorities to request permission to inspect the radar unit. An unidentified American officer was quoted here as declaring that his country would be “most interested” in looking over the Soviet radar which is designed to detect low-flying aircraft.

The seized radar unit is known by its code name, P121. It has a range of just under 300 miles and was linked to Soviet-built ground-to-air missiles forming a defense system against attacking planes flying low over land or sea. It was low-flying Israeli planes coming in from the sea that destroyed the Egyptian Air Force in the first hours of the June 1967 Six-Day War.

The story of the “radar snatch” broke Friday exactly one week after the raid occurred. Israeli censors released it after an account was published by the Daily Express in London, but the feat was an open secret here for days. The official Israeli account of the raid merely stated that it had been successful and that four Egyptian prisoners were taken. The prisoners turned out to be Russian-trained Egyptian technicians who manned the radar unit. They were unarmed. Egyptian soldiers guarding the base fled after putting up token resistance.

ISRAEL WANTED TO KEEP NEWS OF CAPTURE A SECRET

According to the account published in the Daily Express and later confirmed here, the Israeli commandos were surprised to find a brand new Russian-made radar unit at Ras Ghareb and realized that they had come across a prize. They called for cargo helicopters and for acetylene torches and other equipment with which they proceeded to cut the seven-ton radar unit into two sections of three and four tons each for air lifting.

The feat was deliberately kept quiet. According to one source, the official reasoning was that a public embarrassment would lead Moscow to regain lost prestige by providing the Egyptians with more expensive and modern equipment. Secrecy, it was felt, might cause Soviet authorities to reconsider their military assistance program to Egypt. There is little doubt here that the Soviets are seriously concerned that some of their most advanced military equipment is falling into Western hands by means of its capture from the Arabs by Israel.

Technical sources here said the latest “haul” should enable Israel to develop jamming systems that will eliminate the Egyptian advantage in advanced radar technique. The Ras Gharab raid is also believed to have completed the disruption of the Egyptian missile defense system throughout the Suez area, a process that began with almost daily air raids on canal zone installations starting last September. The raids knocked out Egyptian artillery and Russian-made SAM ground-to-air missile sites. The SAM system is basically designed against high flying aircraft and compelled the world’s air forces to develop new low-level attack systems.

The Israeli Air Force has apparently perfected the low-level attack and forced the Russians to equip their Egyptian clients with new radar that could detect low-flying jets. Israeli sources said the elimination of the Ras Gharab base would force Egypt to deploy more forces in that area, reducing its forces on the Suez Canal front.