[Jerusalem Post] Yaakov Lappin - Iran's claim of having increased the range of its fighter jets, allowing them to fly as far as Israel and back without refueling, did not signify any new operational abilities, an arms expert said on Sunday. Yiftah Shapir, head of the Middle East Military Balance project at Tel Aviv University's Institute for National Security Studies, said, "You may be able to technically fly the distance at high altitude without arms on the jet, but there's a big difference between that and flying low as you would on a mission to avoid radar, laden with arms, which takes up more fuel." "I'm certain the Iranians are far from having that capability," he added.
2008-08-18 01:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive