Our friends at Av Week have this story so wired, I couldnt wait to post this update. And, as you well know, Im a bit obsessed with it.
It now seems that one of Israels first shots in its raid into Syria in September was a fusillade of 1s and 0s.
From Aviation Week:
The U.S. was monitoring the electronic emissions coming from Syria during Israels September attack; andalthough there was no direct American help in destroying a nuclear reactorthere was some advice provided beforehand, military and aerospace industry officials tell Aviation Week & Space Technology.
That surveillance is providing clues about how Israeli aircraft managed to slip past Syrian air defenses to bomb the site at Dayr az-Zawr. The main attack was preceded by an engagement with a single Syrian radar site at Tall al-Abuad near the Turkish border. It was assaulted with what appears to be a combination of electronic attack and precision bombs to enable the Israeli force to enter and exit Syrian airspace. Almost immediately, the entire Syrian radar system went off the air for a period of time that included the raid, say U.S. intelligence analysts.
There was no U.S. active engagement other than consulting on potential target vulnerabilities, says a U.S. electronic warfare specialist.
Elements of the attack included some brute-force jamming, which is still an important element of attacking air defenses, U.S. analysts say. Also, Syrian air defenses are still centralized and dependent on dedicated HF and VHF communications, which made them vulnerable. The analysts dont believe any part of Syrias electrical grid was shut down. They do contend that network penetration involved both remote air-to-ground electronic attack and penetration through computer-to-computer links.
There also were some higher-level, nontactical penetrations, either direct or as diversions and spoofs, of the Syrian command-and-control capability, done through network attack, says an intelligence specialist.
These observations provide evidence that a sophisticated network attack and electronic hacking capability is an operational part of the Israel Defense Forces arsenal of digital weapons.
Despite being hobbled by the restrictions of secrecy and diplomacy, Israeli military and government officials confirm that network invasion, information warfare and electronic attack are part of Israels defense capabilities.
And the cool thing was that it seems that Israel was able to do this cyber attack from the air.
That ability of nonstealthy Israeli aircraft to penetrate without interference rests in part on technology, carried on board modified aircraft, that allowed specialists to hack into Syrias networked air defense system, said U.S. military and industry officials in the attacks aftermath.
Network raiders can conduct their invasion from an aircraft into a network and then jump from network to network until they are into the targets communications loop. Whether the network is wireless or wired doesnt matter anymore, says a U.S. industry specialist.
And it seems the Syrian governments self-imposed secrecy was partly to blame for the shut-down.
The raid on Syria was a strategic signal, not a threat, says a retired senior military official who flew combat in the region for decades. This [raid] was about what we perceived are their capabilities [for developing weapons of mass destruction] and about deterrence more than creating damage.
He contends that Syrian procedures even contributed to the successful bombing raid.
Part of the vulnerability of the Syrian facility was that they kept it so secret that there werent enough air defenses assigned to it, the official contends.
Be sure to read the rest of this fascinating story and really kick ass reporting HERE.
(Gouge: NC)
{ 16 comments… read them below or add one }
Tom Bearden would have a field day with this.He is the one advocating super weapons based on Nikola Tesla’s theories of electromagnetics & scalar longitudinal waves.I know that it is more plausible to talk about UFOs & space aliens compared to what I’m about to say,but what if what Israel bombed was just a simple antenna array like the array set up used for HAARP(High Frequency Active Auroral Research Program).Most people talking about this seem to agree that it wasn’t a nuclear plant or facility.What if it was an EMP generating station being built with the help of the Russians?A Less science fiction sounding explanation could be that the Syrians & Russians were setting up a “STEEL YARD/STEEL WORKS” Over-the-Horizon Radar facility,the kind that transmits the infamous “Russian Woodpecker” signal.Conspiracy theorists believe that the STEEL YARD OTH Radar can be used as an EMP weapon just like,supposedly,HAARP can.Both operate,I believe,in the ionosphere of our atmosphere.
Whatever the Israelis attacked,it was something that they felt very threatened by,& it wasn’t nuclear.Also,the Israelis used some “voodoo(a “figurative” description for lack of a better one)” against Syria’s air defenses.I’ll bet that EMP was involved somehow with whatever Israel did.
How about something on the key part of the story – what did they attack, and why?
It wasn;t a nuke plant, but what was it??
What if what was being built was along the lines of a Duga-3 “STEEL YARD” OTH Radar system? The value of such a system escapes me,but I did some further reading on this type of radar system & a facility was located in the Ukraine with the transmitter located outside of Chernobyl(& we all know what happened in Chernobyl).I’m trying to tie this all in with what Israel attacked.Also,right now Israel is having problems on their northern borders with their home satellite dishes’ signals being interfered with(& interrupting their getting Desperate Housewives).Something “non-nuclear” in nature is going on in Syria & is big enough to cause Israel to attack it.
A facility in the works wouldn’t have all of the final components in the machines. I still don’t see how you can say what it was or wasn’t just by over head sat shots.
Obviously,Israel had Mossad agents or maybe some other special ops assets in Syria & they found out something important enough to bomb it.I looked at the photographs too & it just looks like a building & nothing more.It had to be something of WMD(nuclear,biological,or chemical) magnitude in order for Israel to bomb it.Whatever it was,it spooked the Israelis enough to attack it.
Well, if the thing is a carbon copy of a NK nuclear facility, then anyone with detailed knowledge of that facility would be able to recognize this one. If Israel had knowledge of NK advisors on site, then that’s a good tip off.
I looked at pictures of Russian OTH radar system like Duga-3 & no wonder it was nicknamed “STEELYARD” because thats what it looks like,a big steel yard.I guess we’ll never really know what the Israelis bombed,we can only guess.
Hey,off topic,can somebody start a thread about India sending combat trained “camels” to the Sudan.That should really irk the worshipers of modern technology that someone would have to resort to a Dromedary camel(they didn’t say if the Indian camels had one hump or two) for transportation.
Back to Israel,I wish that someone would blow up that photograph of the area bombed,both before & after pictures.The pictures are too small to figure out what the buildings are or were.
Roy Smith said:
> Whatever it was,it spooked the Israelis enough to attack it.
Yeah, that’s one of the many interesting things about this tale. If the AvWeek story is right, then Israel has revealed in a very explicit way a major capability for network/cyber attack. But, once warned, people who might think they’re going to get the same treatment (think Iran) will start implementing countermeasures, of which there are probably many.
So what was of such immediate importance to Israel that they made that sacrifice? Something actually connected with the former building? Sending an urgent message to Iran?
Or what?
Sorry to interrupt the Scalar Theory debate BUT..
Has anyone consider the possibility that this was just another location of Syrian Chem/Bio weapon production plant?
Such a target would require the odd literal “cover up” from the Syrian Army. Such a target would be justified by any western even pansy playbook.
Such a target would make a excellent example of “what if” senerio for other such locations of more importance in say more important nations?”.
Lets recap Israel strikes mystery site (basically b*tch slapping Syria WITH EASE DID I SAY EASE) and then all the sudden out of their grace of piece (I am sure),,, Iran halts EFP transports, Syria cuts Jihad Road by over half and now the kicker Syria wants to come back to the jaw jaw table. Hmmmmmm
Yeahh no connection at all.
I can just imagine being Assad a Western styled dictator from a MINORITY SECT, allied with a Revolutionary Radical Islamist Nation that over 70% of his Gen pop consider heretics, while at the same time his own western ways are consider heretics by both groups, and then I just got a in your face example of Infidel Magic trying to decide between WAR and Jaw Jaw.
Syria is too close to Israel to be allowed to house nuclear weapons.Maybe this was Israel’s “Cuban Missile Crisis.” Maybe this was an Iranian site being set up for listening &/or storing Iranian missiles.I read somewhere that Iran already has nuclear warheads that she bought from Pakistan’s Abdul Qadeer Khan.Maybe what Israel bombed was a staging area where Iran could put together her acquired nuclear warheads with missiles she supplied to Syria or was storing in Israel.A scenario like that though makes me wonder why Syria would have built such a sensitive site ABOVE ground & not underground like Iran is doing with her sensitive sites.
Sorry,I meant missiles Iran was possibly storing in Syria not Israel.Knowing even less about missile silos,could this building be the beginning stage of building ICBM missile silos,maybe for Iran’s long range missiles or for Russia? Or maybe it was a storage building for Syria’s newly acquired Iskander missiles,which also could possibly be mated with Iran’s acquired nuclear warheads.It doesn’t make sense to me though that Syria would not build deep hardened bunkers to store any valuable weapons KNOWING what a short hair trigger that Israel operates on.Maybe Syria put TOO MUCH faith into the air defense system she just bought from Russia.
Does anyone know which plane that is in the picture ?
Thanks
Is that a picture of a C-37A Gulfstream V?
Is that the EC-37 version of the Gulfstream V?
Thank God for the Internet,I looked up Gulfstream V & Israel has a version called the Special Electronic Mission Aircraft.
What a load of baloony…especially coming from C-Low. Utter garbage. Neither Iran nor Syria possess even a resemblence of a nuclear weapon…further, Israel was only testing routes to attach Iran…all this bs speculation about Israeli capabilities etc is just hype…overinflated egos trying to overinflate thier egos again….please spare us the BS and get back into the real world.