Hizbullah Missiles Hamper Israeli Air Force Operations
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Courtesy Of: World Tribune
Wednesday, July 19, 2006

Tel Aviv--The Israeli Air Force has been significantly hampered by Hizbullah rocket strikes on northern Israel.

Military sources said Hizbullah rockets have caused heavy damage to a major air force base at Meron, about 20 kilometers south of Lebanon.

The base contains a regional air operations center that has directed the war on Lebanon, Middle East Newsline reported.

The Hizbullah attacks have also forced the air force to relocate Israeli attack helicopters, comprising the AH-64 Apache and AH-1S Cobra.

The helicopters have played a major role in the air war in southern Lebanon and the Beirut area.

"The main factor has been the helicopters," a source said. "They have nowhere to land in northern Israel that's safe from Hizbullah rockets."

As a result, the air force has also transferred its helicopter maintenance and logistics center from northern Israel.

Over the last few days, the sources said, attack and utility helicopters were ordered to fly to a base in the Negev for service.

"We don't know how many [Hizbullah] missiles are left," Brig. Gen. Omri Tamir, head of the air force's helicopter directorate, said.

"They're concealed in basements and underneath homes. Over the last few days, the weather in Lebanon also made things difficult for us [to strike targets]."

The air force has sought to compensate for its helicopter difficulties by expanding the use of unmanned aerial vehicles for reconaissance in southern Lebanon, the sources said.

They said UAVs have flown more than 250 hours in missions in Lebanon, or 24-hour coverage by at least two platforms.

Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Dan Halutz said the air force employed 100 F-15s and F-16s in the war against Hizbullah. He said more than 1,400 sorties were conducted, most of them bombing missions.

"It will take time to determine the effectiveness of the IDF [Israel Defense Forces] operation in Lebanon," Halutz told the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee on Monday.

"We do know, however, that we crippled Hizbullah's major transportation points and prevented them from transferring more weapons to their artillery units. We also know that we cleared out Hizbullah's major support networks."

Source:
http://worldtribune.com/worldtribune/06/front2453935.203472222.html