Military circles here warned today that the advanced MIG-23 jets reportedly delivered to Egypt recently menaced not only Israel but southern Europe with its vital network of NATO installations. They said it was still unclear how many of the new supersonic jets have been supplied to Egypt but if the number was anywhere between 200-300 the menace to NATO would be clear. According to the circles, the MIG-23s are exclusively under Russian operational control. The Soviet government made that stipulation when it agreed to President Anwar Sadat’s request last February for additional protection for Egyptian cities against possible Israeli attacks. According to the military circles a Soviet objective in supplying the advanced MIGs is to blunt an Israeli attack on Egypt long enough to put international machinery into action before Israeli forces overran Egypt and created “irreversible facts.”
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