Operation Model 5 (
Hebrew: דוגמן 5, ''Doogman 5'') is the name of an
Israeli Air Force operation, and the common name for the ensuing
anti-aircraft battle, which took place over the
Golan Heights on the October 7, 1973, the second day of the
Yom Kippur War.
''Model 5'' was preplanned as a sweeping operation to destroy all of the Syrian
surface-to-air missile
A surface-to-air missile (SAM), also known as a ground-to-air missile (GTAM) or surface-to-air guided weapon (SAGW), is a missile designed to be launched from the ground to destroy aircraft or other missiles. It is one type of anti-aircraft syst ...
(SAM) batteries on the Golan front, by using unguided, general-use bombs dropped from a medium altitude near the targets. The attacking aircraft were to approach the targets at a very low altitude, in order to avoid being detected by Syrian radars (especially
fire control and target acquisition radars such as the
Flat Face and
Long Track).
Due to a lack of updated
intelligence and reliance on outdated
IMINT, while suffering from an underdeveloped
ELINT–
ESM capability, the Israeli aircraft did not find their targets, as these SAM batteries had already moved to other locations.
The outcome of ''Model 5'' was catastrophic for the attacking force: six
F-4 Phantom aircraft were lost over Syria and several others were damaged but returned to
Ramat David
Ramat David ( he, רָמַת דָּוִד, ''lit.'' David Heights) is a kibbutz in northern Israel. Located in the Jezreel Valley near Ramat David Airbase, it falls under the jurisdiction of Jezreel Valley Regional Council. In it had a populatio ...
. Most of the damaged aircraft were hit by
ZSU-23-4 air defense artillery guns, which were especially deadly due to the sorties' very low altitude. Two crewmen were killed and nine captured by the Syrians, for the destruction of but a single Syrian SAM battery.
Stunned by their difficulties in suppressing enemy air defenses in both fronts of the Yom Kippur War and the resulting degradation in the effectiveness of the Israeli Air Force, the Israelis spent the years following the war developing a comprehensive strategy to deal with the
suppression of enemy air defenses. These efforts culminated in their engagement of the Syrians 9 years later in
Operation Mole Cricket 19, where they were able to, for the first time in history, destroy an entire Soviet-made SAM network in a matter of hours.
See also
*
Yom Kippur War
*
F-4 Phantom
*
A-4 Skyhawk
External links
פרדוקס ה-7 באוקטובר (Hebrew)
Battles of the Yom Kippur War
Aerial operations and battles involving Israel
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