Operation Opera: When Israeli Warplanes Destroyed Iraq's Nuclear Reactor

 Forty years ago, new records were recorded in world history when Israel invaded another powerful state and began pumping air into its nuclear facilities and completely destroying it. Israel destroyed Iraq's Osiraq nuclear reactor with the help of eight F-16 fighter jets.

Although the attack took place on June 7, 1981, it was announced on June 8, and on June 9, the day after the announcement, other media outlets, including the New York Times, reported that Israeli aircraft had dropped weapons. Near Baghdad. Yesterday. He drops the bomb and kills it. According to the Times, Israel has said that if it does not fight, Iraq will "be able to develop nuclear weapons."

A day after the attack, Israeli Prime Minister Manakham Begin, announcing the incident, said: The attack on Hussein was necessary to end "evil."

The area where the Osiraq reactor is installed.

Through airstrikes against Osiraq, Israel declared that it did not harm foreign experts working there. However, later reports said the attack killed a French nuclear worker and ten Iraqi soldiers. Israel also said after the attack that Sunday was chosen because Christians are leaving work hours.

France, which is building the reactor with Italy, announced that a French technician, identified only as Mr. Chosped, killed in the airstrike. At the time, the plant contained at least 25 pounds of enriched uranium. News of the attack the next day did not provide full details. The New York Times reported that Iraqi media did not report on the attack until Israel released a video of the attack. The New York Times quoted experts as saying that the F-4 Phantom and F-15 fighters were involved in the bombing. The BBC reports that, on the order of Israeli Prime Minister Begin, "countless Israeli F-16 and F-15 fighter jets destroyed the Osiraq reactor, 18 kilometers from Baghdad."

Target 600 miles away.

However, reliable details of the attack were written by Israeli journalist Ronan Bergman in his book Rise and First Kill, published in 2018, in collaboration with former members of Israel's intelligence services. Ronan belongs to a popular Israeli newspaper. Previously, Roger Claire, an American journalist published a book called "Red in the Sun" after gaining access to interviews and other documents from Israeli air force pilots involved in the mission. However, book critics and analysts consider Ronan Bergman's research to be more independent, balanced, and reliable research. Ronan's book provides a history of the activities of Israel's intelligence services, while Richard Claire's book focuses solely on the story of the Osiraq attack. Ronan wrote that on June 7, at 4 pm, eight F-16s left Atizan airport in the Israeli-occupied Sinai desert to attack the Osiraq reactor. They are also backed by six F-15s to protect, protect and hide them. The planes took off from Artisan airport, flew over the Gulf of Aqaba and then south of Jordan and northern Saudi Arabia, entered southwestern Iraqi airspace, and dropped powerful bombs on the Osiraq nuclear reactor south of Baghdad. have to destroy.

Therefore, in the event of an unintended incident in this operation, another 60 aircraft are prepared for immediate assistance, some of them in the air and others on the ground. This included aircraft to provide Boeing with intelligence for refueling and air command and control (however, one of the mission pilots later said these technologies were not in use at the time). In addition, rescue operations are planned in the event of an Israeli accident or plane crash.

The route from the flight point to the target is 600 miles long, passing through southern Jordan and northern Saudi Arabia to Iraq. The pilot flew less than 300 feet underground to escape the radars of Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Iraq. Israeli planes reached their targets in Iraq at 5:30 pm.  As they approached the target, the eight F-16s rose to an altitude of 1,000 feet, changed their position according to the target and began dropping their bombs at a 35-degree angle. One by one, the F-16s dropped two bombs, each weighing a ton, into the reactor's sturdy concrete dome. As the first bomb does not fall or fall. He had 16 pumps, two of which he never used. Half of the bomb exploded on hitting a ground target, and half exploded as deep as it hit the ground, then exploded with a powerful blast. As the two groups of two pilots flew closer and closer, several dozen bombs exploded.

Was this the first attack on Osiris?

These are just a few of the shared goal-setting programs you can use around the world. President Saddam Hussein said that Iran will not allow Israel to enter the country. If you want to ditch the counter, try to keep up the good work. However, on September 30, 1980, shortly after the start of the war in Iraq following the invasion of Iran, two Iranian F-4 Phantoms dropped bombs on the Osiraq nuclear reactor but did not cause significant damage.

Mission successful.

The Israeli attack on Osiraq came almost a year after the failed Iranian attack, in which the reactor was completely destroyed. The Iraqis were shocked by the sudden attack. Not a single missile was fired at the attack aircraft. Even today, Israeli analysts are surprised that, contrary to their expectations, the Israeli plane was not hit by anti-aircraft fire on the way back, and no surface-to-air missiles were fired at them. All the planes returned safely to Israel. The day after the mission's success, Israeli Prime Minister Manakham Begin said in a speech after the attack that the 275 million nuclear facilities were only months away from completion. According to an official Israeli statement, the attack made Baghdad a nuclear power. Immediately after the attack, Iraq initially blamed Iran for the attack, but when the rest of the world learned of the undeniable fact, Iraq also admitted that the attack was carried out by Israeli aircraft.

Nuclear reactor breakdown.

The French Foreign Ministry said there was no nuclear fuel in the reactor at the time of the attack. A French press release published after the attack said that the reactor, which uses the richest uranium fuel suitable for nuclear weapons, had been seriously damaged. A press release from the French ministry said that the small reactor supplied by France in the same complex, as well as the reactor built by the Soviets, survived (although both reactors were completely destroyed).

Israel's global condemnation.

After the attack, many countries around the world condemned Israel. Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Russia and China condemned the attack. France also reacted strongly. France's relations with Israel have been strained for some time. Iran, which was the target of the invasion of Iraq and waged war last year, also condemned Israel.

US response.

Ronald Reagan was President of the United States at the time. His government also strongly condemned the attack on Iraq's nuclear facilities, but the spiel was indeed cautious, and this fact was later revealed in several declassified classified US documents. Richard V. Allen, US President Ronald Reagan's national security adviser, immediately warned Washington in a classified letter about the attack on Iraq's nuclear facilities, condemning Israel and taking into account the fact that during the former president's time Carter learned that the State Department knew that Israel was thinking of attacking Iraq.

Alexandra Evans, a Wilson Center researcher, quoted a confidential letter from Richard Allen said: Let Israel be angry and refuse the US government to tell the truth.

The attack is illegal.

"The bombing of the Osiraq reactor set two dangerous precedents: the intentional destruction of a nuclear reactor, etc.," wrote Donald Borders, a former defense official, in the June 1993 issue of the International Journal of World Peace. It was the first time a country had attacked another nation's nuclear facilities. He also acknowledged that such attacks, no matter how much the world gains from regional security, are illegal under international law. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) later rebuked Israel, but did not take any action against the country, instead of demanding that Israel inspect its nuclear facilities, which Israel ignored. The UN General Assembly also called for sanctions against Israel, but these were not implemented.

Pakistan Air Force Readiness.

According to an article in the July 2010 issue of Pakistan's leading defense and strategic information magazine, Defense Pakistan, Pakistan realized in 1981 that Israel's next target after Iraq was Pakistan. of each attack to protect Kahuta. According to a video posted on the YouTube channel DCS (Digital Combat Simulator) World Pakistan, based on information obtained from the Defense Pak website, made a video indicating that on May 28, 1998, the plan was to protect the nuclear detonation arrangements of Pakistan. and it was called 'Operation Awakens 98'. According to the video, PAF Elite 9 Squadron, also known as Griffin, is deployed in Quetta and Chaghi areas, while 11 Squadron is deployed at Jacobabad and Shahbaz bases in Sindh. In addition, six Hercules bombers were in the air. In total, the Air Force at the time had 1.2 million pounds of guns and ammunition on various flights. All the parts needed for a nuclear explosion were transported from Chak Lala airport to Dalbandin airport on Hercules jets, which were guarded by four Pakistani F-16 fighter jets equipped with surface-to-air missiles. The F-16 received a secret order that if at any time it learns that a Hercules aircraft carrying nuclear assets has been hijacked or is being withdrawn from the country's airspace, to destroy it with missiles. The whole operation was top secret. And the reason itself is explained in this video. That the PAF is at serious risk of being attacked by Israel on a mission to deliver nuclear assets or nuclear parts or aircraft involved. The Air Force high command was taken aback when an F-16 plane suddenly appeared on radar at Ras Koh rather than an explosion at Chaghi. "For a time it was suspected that an F-16 belonged to the Israel Air Force. But it soon became clear that it was a Pakistani Air Force plane. Pakistan considers the possibility of a real Israeli strike and is fully prepared to do so. cope with alone."Right now, Israel is using a lot of airpower against opponents who don't have an air force," said Fahd, a retired squad leader. As a student of airpower, I believe that if the opponent also has airpower, then it will be a competition for equality. "Professionalism is not used against the poor, but against equal opponents."