The Israel Air Force ordered several F-15 multi-role fighters to
confront the Syrian MiGs, officials said. But the Syrian fighters were gone
by the time the F-15s arrived.
Officials said Syria has rarely held air force missions near the Golan
Heights. They said that in 2007, after years of inactivity, Damascus
increased combat exercises that included refurbished MiG fighters.
The Israel Air Force has been monitoring Syrian air movements. On Sept.
22, the air force sent combat jets to the Golan Heights after a Syrian MiG
disappeared from Israeli radar screens.
Officials said Syria has also moved troops south toward the Golan
Heights over the last two weeks. But they said Damascus was not expected to
initiate hostilities, although they did not rule out attacks by insurgency
groups aligned with Syria.
On Sept. 20, Israeli F-15s were first sent to the northern Golan Heights
along the Syrian frontier. Officials said air force radars detected
"suspicious activity," which turned out to be a flock of migrating birds.
The Syrian fleet has been based on the MiG-29 as well as older MiG-25s
and -23 fighters. Damascus was said to have about 200 MiG-21s, most of which
have been retired amid a shortage of spare parts and maintenance.
Industry sources said Russia has been negotiating for a contract to
modernize some of the Syria's MiG fleet. The sources said Syria has been
discussing a joint project that would include and funded by Iran.
"Our deliveries to Syria are for defensive arms, and in no way can that
balance be disrupted," Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on
Sunday. "Moreover, given the particular delicacy of questions related to
deliveries of arms to this region, in our contract we always prohibit the
transfer of weapons to anyone apart from the direct recipient of such
weapons."
"If there are facts indicating that obligations have not been fulfilled,
if those obligations have been violated, we always investigate such
instances," Lavrov told a briefing at the United Nations. "But, in this
instance, we have not received any facts. We have spoken about this with our
Israeli colleagues, and they are worried about this."
