North Korean pilots flew for Egypt during the Yom Kippur War and two of them were shot down, Air Force Commander Gen. Benjamin Peled disclosed in an Air Force Week address at Kiryat Shemona. Peled said that as a rule, the Koreans who flew the most modern Soviet MIGs, avoided combat with Israeli planes and when contact was made they made efforts to break away and disengage. But on one occasion during the final days of the fighting. Israeli jets attacking an Egyptian Air Force base intercepted two of the Korean-piloted planes and shot them down, Peled said.
Focusing on other military matters, Peled said that Jordan was building up its offensive air force to 100 combat planes. This, he observed, could cause Israel problems in the future. Referring to Soviet aircraft supplied to Arab states. Peled said there was no fear of the MIG-25s which were high-altitude reconnaissance planes and, in any event, not now in the region. As to the Soviet MIG-23, reputedly the fastest and highest flying jet fighter in the world; Peled claimed the Israel-made “Kfir” fighter and the American Phantom were superior aircraft.
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