Israel Sells F-16 Jets Used to Destroy Iraq Nuclear Reactor to Canadian Company

An Israeli F-16 fighter jet takes off at the Nevatim air force base near the southern Israeli city of Beersheva on October 6, 2010.
An Israeli F-16 fighter jet takes off at the Nevatim air force base near the southern Israeli city of Beersheva on October 6, 2010.
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Israel Sells F-16 Jets Used to Destroy Iraq Nuclear Reactor to Canadian Company

An Israeli F-16 fighter jet takes off at the Nevatim air force base near the southern Israeli city of Beersheva on October 6, 2010.
An Israeli F-16 fighter jet takes off at the Nevatim air force base near the southern Israeli city of Beersheva on October 6, 2010.

The Israeli Ministry of Security concluded a deal to sell its old F-16 fighter jets to a private Canadian company, which will be used for training.

The deal included four fighter jets that took part in the 1981 attack on the Iraqi nuclear reactor and in the 1982 invasion of Lebanon, but were retired from active service once more advanced versions of the F-16 came into use.

The deal comprises of 29 jets that were retired in 2016, valued at $100 million, and is set to be the largest of its kind ever.

The planes were sold to the Canadian company, Top Aces Inc, which maintains a large fleet of training jets that it leases for the US Army and other militaries in the world.

It turned out that some of these aircraft were kept in Israeli warehouses, as part of an internal museum, and include the jets that participated in Operation Opera, also known as Operation Babylon, during which they destroyed the Iraqi nuclear reactor in southeast Baghdad.

Iraq built the reactor with French expertise for “peaceful scientific research,” which Iran bombed nine months prior to the Israeli attack, but only caused minor damages.

The attack was considered an “Israeli-Iranian collaboration against Iraq.”

According to the Israeli army archive, the Israeli aircraft were intended for the Iranian air force, but the Khomeini revolution prevented their delivery to Tehran.

At that time, Israeli Prime Minister, Menachem Begin, recorded a new war doctrine, in which he indicated that this was not an exceptional attack, rather a precedent for every future government in Israel.

“We will not allow any of our enemies to acquire weapons of mass destruction.”

The doctrine prompted Ehud Olmert's government to destroy the nuclear reactor under construction in Deir Ezzor in Syria in 2007, and to later fight Iran's nuclear activity.



Russian Attack on Ukraine’s Poltava Region Injures Nine, Causes Power Cuts

 A US-made M113 armored personnel carrier runs on a road in the Donetsk region, on June 16, 2024, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (AFP)
A US-made M113 armored personnel carrier runs on a road in the Donetsk region, on June 16, 2024, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (AFP)
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Russian Attack on Ukraine’s Poltava Region Injures Nine, Causes Power Cuts

 A US-made M113 armored personnel carrier runs on a road in the Donetsk region, on June 16, 2024, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (AFP)
A US-made M113 armored personnel carrier runs on a road in the Donetsk region, on June 16, 2024, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (AFP)

A Russian missile attack on Ukraine's east-central Poltava region on Monday injured nine people and damaged power lines, knocking out electricity for over 55,000 consumers, a regional governor said.

According to preliminary information, there were no fatalities, Filip Pronin said in a video address from the site posted on the Telegram app.

Several high-rise buildings were damaged, he said. Smoke rising from damaged garages could be seen in the background, while rescuers attempted to extinguish fires.

Pronin said later that due to damage to power lines, some 53,000 private and 2,400 industrial consumers faced power cuts. Earlier, Ukraine's air force announced a missile alert for the region.