U.S. Aircraft Sales to Arabs Seen As Upsetting Mideast Airpower Balance

The American decision to sell combat aircraft to Egypt and Saudi Arabia while providing Israel with roughly only half the planes it has requested, would have serious ramifications for the balance of airpower in the Middle East, Israeli military sources said today. The sources said that if Israel ever entertained any ideas of abandoning the three military air bases it has established in Sinai, it would have to reconsider such a move if the Saudian and Egyptian air forces are strengthened.

According to the sources, it is clear that the American planes would extend the air strike power of both Egypt and Saudi Arabia, placing more Israeli targets within their range. Military analysts pointed out that the F-15s earmarked for Israel and Saudi Arabia have a range of 2800 miles, the F-5Es for Egypt have a range of 1600 miles and the F-16s for Israel have a range of 2000 miles. If such a situation were to develop, the strategic importance of the Sinai air fields and their place in Israel’s defense network would be greatly increased.

The air fields are located at Sharm el-Sheikh at the southern tip of the Sinai peninsula, at Etzion, near Eilat, and at Eitam, near El Arish in northern Sinai.

The Sharm el-Sheikh base is essential to protect navigation through the Straits of Tiran. The Etzion field offers protection against warplanes based on the Saudian shares of the Gulf of Aqaba and the Eitam field is an advance base to protect southern Israel from air attack, the military sources said.

They also noted that the Israeli Air Force which, according to foreign sources, has tripled in size since the Yom Kippur War, cannot be deployed at air fields within Israel’s pre-1967 borders and requires much wider air space simply to maneuver. The supersonic F-15, for example, requires a range of 40 miles just to close in on an enemy and that alone demonstrates Israel’s need for the Sinai air fields, the sources said.