Former Defense Minister: Israel Came Close to Shooting Down a Russian Jet
In an interview with Sputnik News, former Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon said that the Israel-Russia 'hotline' prevented a Russian fighter jet from downing in 2015
Dan Arkin
| 07/05/2018
Former Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon (Photo: Gilad Kavalerchik)
Israel is against the sale of Russian S-300 surface-to-air missile systems to Syria, and has channels of cooperation with Moscow to try to prevent such supplies, former Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon told Sputnik News.
Yaalon stresses that the IDF is ready to bypass modern air defense systems. "[…] The entire Syrian air defense system is based on Soviet or Russian equipment. […] The S-300 is a more powerful system, and we do not like it to appear in Syria, but just as we are ready and able to overcome the entire existing air defense of Syria, we should be ready to deal with the S-300," he said.
According to the former defense minister, the Israel-Russia 'hotline' that has been used by the IDF and the Russian forces in Syria over the past three years has helped prevent a Russian jet that almost entered Israel’s airspace from potentially being shot down.
"[The 'hotline'] saves lives, since it helps to avoid misunderstandings. At the beginning of the Russian operation in Syria, there was a case when a Russian pilot had almost crossed [Israel’s] border in the Golan Heights. If it had been a Syrian jet, we would have downed it. But we realized it was a Russian jet and used the 'hotline' to communicate with the Khmeimim [airbase]. ‘Your jet is about to enter our airspace. Attention!’ The matter was solved immediately," Yaalon stated.
Sputnik News points out that Yaalon was one of the developers of the information-sharing mechanism between Russia and Israel since 2015. According to Yaalon, Israel does not need to inform the Russian military about its operations in Syria, as the Russian servicemen see and identify Israeli aircraft, but are not interfering in their activities in accordance with the existing arrangements.
"[…] The Russians do not need to coordinate their actions with us, and we do not need to coordinate ours with them, and we both know how to recognize each other's planes. We are able to distinguish the Syrian Su-24 from the Russian Su-24. […] In the same manner, they identify our aircraft and do not interfere," Yaalon said.
"We do not need to coordinate, report to the Russian headquarters that we are going to carry out an airstrike, we understand that they are able to identify our planes, they do not interfere with us, we do not interfere with them," he explained.
"When once, I was the defense minister at that time, we realized that Russia had decided to send its aviation to Syria and later to deploy the S-300 and the S-400 air defense systems, I invited the Russian military attaché in Tel Aviv to my office and said: 'We know that you plan to bring troops to Syria. We are not going to interfere in the intra-Syrian conflict, but we have our own interests there, the 'red lines.' Do not bother us, and we will not interfere with you. [...] To avoid misunderstandings, we have a Russian-speaking officer on duty from the Israeli side," he stated.
"As of now, there was not a single incident caused by misunderstanding, as it happened when the Turks shot down the Russian Sukhoi in northern Syria. We found a way not to interfere with each other," the former minister added.
In an interview with Sputnik News, former Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon said that the Israel-Russia 'hotline' prevented a Russian fighter jet from downing in 2015
Former Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon (Photo: Gilad Kavalerchik)
Israel is against the sale of Russian S-300 surface-to-air missile systems to Syria, and has channels of cooperation with Moscow to try to prevent such supplies, former Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon told Sputnik News.
Yaalon stresses that the IDF is ready to bypass modern air defense systems. "[…] The entire Syrian air defense system is based on Soviet or Russian equipment. […] The S-300 is a more powerful system, and we do not like it to appear in Syria, but just as we are ready and able to overcome the entire existing air defense of Syria, we should be ready to deal with the S-300," he said.
According to the former defense minister, the Israel-Russia 'hotline' that has been used by the IDF and the Russian forces in Syria over the past three years has helped prevent a Russian jet that almost entered Israel’s airspace from potentially being shot down.
"[The 'hotline'] saves lives, since it helps to avoid misunderstandings. At the beginning of the Russian operation in Syria, there was a case when a Russian pilot had almost crossed [Israel’s] border in the Golan Heights. If it had been a Syrian jet, we would have downed it. But we realized it was a Russian jet and used the 'hotline' to communicate with the Khmeimim [airbase]. ‘Your jet is about to enter our airspace. Attention!’ The matter was solved immediately," Yaalon stated.
Sputnik News points out that Yaalon was one of the developers of the information-sharing mechanism between Russia and Israel since 2015. According to Yaalon, Israel does not need to inform the Russian military about its operations in Syria, as the Russian servicemen see and identify Israeli aircraft, but are not interfering in their activities in accordance with the existing arrangements.
"[…] The Russians do not need to coordinate their actions with us, and we do not need to coordinate ours with them, and we both know how to recognize each other's planes. We are able to distinguish the Syrian Su-24 from the Russian Su-24. […] In the same manner, they identify our aircraft and do not interfere," Yaalon said.
"We do not need to coordinate, report to the Russian headquarters that we are going to carry out an airstrike, we understand that they are able to identify our planes, they do not interfere with us, we do not interfere with them," he explained.
"When once, I was the defense minister at that time, we realized that Russia had decided to send its aviation to Syria and later to deploy the S-300 and the S-400 air defense systems, I invited the Russian military attaché in Tel Aviv to my office and said: 'We know that you plan to bring troops to Syria. We are not going to interfere in the intra-Syrian conflict, but we have our own interests there, the 'red lines.' Do not bother us, and we will not interfere with you. [...] To avoid misunderstandings, we have a Russian-speaking officer on duty from the Israeli side," he stated.
"As of now, there was not a single incident caused by misunderstanding, as it happened when the Turks shot down the Russian Sukhoi in northern Syria. We found a way not to interfere with each other," the former minister added.
