Israelis Believe Soviet MIGs Will Be Integrated into Egypt’s Defense System

Israel has no visual evidence to confirm the presence of advanced Soviet MIG fighters in Egypt. But Defense Minister Moshe Dayan said on a television interview last night, "unfortunately we can’t deny it." According to various reports, the Soviets have recently airlifted to Egypt small numbers of either the MIG-23, known to NATO by the code-name "Flogger" or the MIG-25 known as "Foxbat." The supersonic planes are considered the world’s most advanced fighters and are said to outperform the American F-4 Phantom jets flown by Israel. Israeli sources said today that if the Russians have indeed brought these aircraft to Egypt it can be assumed legocally that they are being test flown or being used in training programs. It can also be assumed that they are flown by Russian pilots because the Soviets are not likely to trust their best planes to the Egyptians, the source said. The Israelis believe the new jets will be integrated into Egypt’s massive Soviet-built air defense system consisting of SAM-2 and SAM-3 missile batteries. But Israeli military circles are confident that they can meet the threat. Conceding that the new MIGs may be superior to the Phantoms in some ways, they maintain that the decisive factor is not the plane but the pilot.

(Observers abroad saw the introduction of the new MIGs in Egypt as a political rather than a military move. The New York Times said yesterday that by demonstrating their willingness to beef up their military presence in Egypt, the Russians expect the United States to increase diplomatic pressure on Israel to make concessions in the Jarring talks. The Daily Telegraph of London saw it as "a well timed purely political move." The paper’s aviation editor said Egypt was actually defenseless against low level attack by supersonic planes which can cross the country in minutes. "The recognized form of defense is to strike the enemy first or in retaliation. The MIG-23 is one of the world’s best defense fighters," the Telegraph said. (De Telegraf, an Amsterdam newspaper reported yesterday that nearly 100 British Centurion tanks, loaned to Holland under the mutual aid defense scheme, are being delivered to Jordan by the United States. According to the newspaper, the tanks were being shipped from Rotterdam and Hamburg to Aqaba, Jordan’s only seaport. The Netherlands Defense Ministry and the U.S. Embassy in The Hague said only that the tanks had been "returned to U.S. ownership.")

(The Sunday Times of London reported that Britain is secretly negotiating to supply Libya with $144 million worth of arms and is moving toward a new Anglo-Libyan treaty that would open the way for the sale of further substantial quantities of weapons. According to the Sunday Times, the Libyans are insisting on Britain’s sophisticated Chieftain tank and refuse to buy the older Centurions or the lighter Vickers. The sale of Chieftain tanks to Libya would be regarded by Israel as a serious enforcement of its Arab foes, the newspaper said. There was official confirmation in London today of reports that Britain is building a 1,700 ton frigate for Libya to be armed with 12 missiles in addition to its normal guns. The vessel will be capable of operating anywhere in the Mediterranean. The Israeli Navy has no ship to match it. The British Defense Ministry is training 30 Libyan sailors to take over the warship. The vessel was ordered by King Idris of Libya before he was dethroned in a coup 18 months ago.)