AVIATION FANS

It was 8:45 in the morning of the 5th of June 1967 the Israeli air attack started and in less than 3 hours Egypt lost more than 227 military airplanes on the ground.

The Egyptian reaction was so tough but in fact it came too late and due to its high losses the EAF couldn't change mush of the course of the war. In six days of fighting the Egyptian air force flew a lot of sorties in both air to air and air to ground missions and scored more than 25 aerial victories and it destroyed a lot of Israeli ground targets. In the end of the war the EAF succeeded by the help of the air defense in downing about 72 IAF fighters. During the war a lot of Egyptian pilots made heroic actions and made a great effort to prevent the IAF from entering the Egyptian air space and trying to guard the returning Egyptian armies. Algeria sent some Mig-21 fighters to support the EAF and some were downed in combat. The EAF conducted some long range attack missions against Israel itself using Il-28 bombers, but most of these missions failed and at least one Il-28 was shot down in combat.

Between 1967 and 1970 it was not a period of peace for the EAF. The EAF went in a large construction plan to build air bases to increase its survivability and for the first time in its history the EAF planned and made a lot aggressive attack mission and it all first began when Egyptian Mig-17 escorted by Mig-21 fighters flew massive destructive attacks on the Israeli positions along the Suez canal in the 14th of July 1967 only one month after the six day war. During this period also Egypt received replacements for its loses during the six day war. The EAF was the first branch of the Egyptian army to return back to the war. Flying photoreconnaissance missions and attack missions all over Sinai using hit and run tactics the EAF regained its self-confidence. And proved itself as a tough foe for the IAF. Beginning of 1969 the battle of Egypt rely began when the Egyptian air defense forces (EADF) began deploying its Sam sites along the Suez Canal. Israel lunched an air campaign to destroy Egyptian air defense network using its newly supplied F-4E phantoms so the Egyptians had no option and their fighters engaged the Israelis in devastating air battles where the Egyptian fighters scored a lot of victories including the shoot down of the first F-4E over the north of the gulf of Suez in the 9th of December 1969.

Following this Israelis began deep strike missions ending this period with the electronic summer of 1970 were the EADF succeeded in downing more than 13 Israeli fighters in one week. One of the most important events of the war of attrition was the battle of Egypt when Egyptian fighters were the only defense of Egypt against the Israeli deep striking missions, during these days Egyptian fighters went in large air battles against attacking Israelis and shot down more than 50 enemy fighters in less than 2 weeks. Also some Russian fighters pilots were sent to Egypt to support the Egyptian crew and they did a great work although some of them were killed in air battles with the Israelis. Although the EAF lost large some of equipments and personal it configured out its problems and needs and gained experience which helped the EAF to have the upper hand during 1973 war.

Exactly at 5 to 2 P.M. more than 220 Egyptian fighters and bombers took off begging the first strike in which the EAF attacked five Israeli air bases including AL-Arish where the Israeli air command is stationed and destroying the five air bases completely. Also it attacked some Hawk Sam sites, two batteries of 175 mm long-range artillery, three radar and command posts, two ECM bases, three logistics areas and strong points on the Suez canal shore and during this strike only five Egyptian planes were downed in which one of its pilots were president Sadat brother. TU-16 bombers also fired more than 25 As-1 Kennel and As-5 Kelt in which sum where using anti-radiation seekers to destroy radar sites. The transport squadrons using its heavy Mi-8 helicopters transported a lot of commando groups and they heavily attacked from the Israeli fighters were the Egyptian pilots managed to escape the enemy fighters and one Egyptian Mi-8 downed an F-4E using its S-57 anti-tank rocket pod.

In the 14th of October EL-Mansura air battle took place, it happened when the Israelis tried to raid the Egyptian air bases in the east of the Delta but they were intercepted and for the coming 50 minutes the EAF will scour 20 air kills and losing only three fighters making it s highest scour in one battle. After the gap of EL-Dflesuar some Egyptian Sam sites were destroyed (about 10 sites) the Egyptian fighters took over and engaged the Israelis in devastating air battles in which some of 50 to 60 airplanes would participate from both sides although this the EAF succeed in preventing the Israelis from entering the Egyptian air space. During the war the EAF flow more than 6815 sorties and lost about 96 airplanes in which only 30 was lost in air combat (about 120 kills were scored by the Israelis during the war on the Egyptian front were the rest was against other Arab fighters that worked along side with the EAF). About 30 Egyptian pilots achieved ACE record and the EAF downed more than 90 Israeli fighters plus more than 110 were downed by the EADF. The Egyptian strategy during yum kippur war was to use the very powerful Egyptian air defense network in close cooperation with the Egyptian air force to prevent the Israelis from taking air superiority. This way of fighting proved it self and in the end of the war the success was with the Egyptian for the first time in their modern military history.

For the second time in its history the wind of change had blown on the EAF and During this period the EAF got its most advanced Russian weapons and they were the Mig-23 floggers before the broke out between Egypt and Russia in the late 1975. In 1976 Egypt returned to China for fighters, spare parts and other equipment and it purchased J-6 fighters and J-7 (some of them have been assembled in Egypt). This period also remarked the beginning of purchasing western weapons when Egypt orders MirageV fighters and C-130 transport planes. In 1977 the seven day border war between Egypt and Libya happened and it was the last war for the Egyptians and the EAF were it made a lot of striking missions and it is reported that the EAF lost three fighters to ground fire and downing six Libyan fighters and destroying several others on the ground and destroying radar sites along the border. The 14th of October 1979 remarked the arrival of the first patch of the Egyptian 36 F-4E phantoms and for the coincidence pilot Ahmed Atif the EAF FPK (first phantom killer) was the first Egyptian pilot the fly the phantom.

Beginning from 1982 the EAF began receiving its advanced F-16 fighters under peace victor program and it received in 1986 its Mirage-2000 fighters. Egypt also built under license the Alphajet, Gazelles and EMB-312 Tucano airplanes. During the beginning of the nineties all Mig-23, Su-7/20, Tu-16 and Il-28 were retired from service. In 1987 the E-2C Hawkeye (AW&CS) entered service and they are upgraded with advanced AN/APS-145 radars. The EAF modernized its F-16 fighters to have the capability of carrying and lunching AIM-7 Sparrow AAM and AGM-84 Harpoon anti-shipping missiles and GBU TV stand off guided bombes. The F-16 is now the backbone of the EAF (220 fighters were 196 are operational and 24 are in order). In 1994 Egypt purchased AH-64A attack helicopters that is now being upgraded to D Longbow version and in 1997 it received SH-2G (E) anti-submarine helicopters to work with the navy. Now the EAF is the largest Arab air force and the second in the Middle East after Israel with total of 555 fighters. The EAF is entering the third millennium with large upgrading and modifying programmers. Old L-29 is being replaced by advanced K-8E that will be locally built in Egypt and the German Group-105 will replace old HA-100 in the Egyptian air academy service. Proud of its history, hoping in its future the EAF is now considered one of the most combat capable air forces in the world.