Operation Rimon 20

Rimon 20

Date	July 30, 1970
Location	West of Suez Canal
Result	Israeli victory

Belligerents

Israel

Soviet Union

Commanders and leaders

Mordechai Hod
Iftach Spector
Amos Amir

Nikolai Yurchenko †

Strength

12 Mirage IIICs
4 F-4E Phantom IIs

24 MiG-21MFs

Casualties and losses

1 aircraft damaged

4 killed
5 aircraft destroyed

Rimon 20 (Hebrew: רימון 20‎‎, Pomegranate 20) was the code name of an aerial battle which pitted the Israeli Air Force directly against Soviet fighter pilots stationed in Egypt during the War of Attrition. Israel selectively chose its most skilled fighter pilots to participate in the planned dogfight in order to send a message to the Soviet Union. During the three-minute engagement, which took place on July 30, 1970, the Soviets were dominated by their veteran Israeli counterparts, resulting in the downing of five Soviet-flown MiG-21s by Israeli F-4 Phantoms and Mirage IIIs. Egyptian military leaders were satisfied to hear the outcome of the battle because the Soviets had long been criticizing Egypt's aerial losses to Israel and attributing them to the lack of skill of its fighter pilots. It was one of the final engagements of the War of Attrition and is believed to have contributed to the conclusion of a ceasefire.

Egypt had launched the War of Attrition in the hope of wearing down Israel's hold on territories captured during the 1967 Six Day War. By the start of 1970, however, the Israeli Air Force had established complete aerial superiority over the front lines along the Suez Canal, and the launching of Operation Priha in January laid bare Egypt's inability to counter Israeli supremacy not only along the canal but in the Egyptian heartland as well. President Nasser of Egypt therefore turned to the Soviet Union for assistance. Nasser visited Moscow on January 24–25, 1970, and persuaded his hosts to expand Soviet assistance. An entire division of the Soviet Air Defence Forces (Voyska PVO), the , including the MiG-21MF-equipped 135th Fighter Aviation Regiment and the latest versions of the SA-2 and SA-3 SAM batteries, therefore deployed to Egypt. These were initially tasked with the defence of Cairo, Alexandria and the Aswan Dam alone, freeing Egyptian air defence assets to engage the IAF over the canal zone. Their presence and active participation in the defence of Egypt was not made public and denied long afterwards, yet picked up by Israeli intelligence not long after their arrival.

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Wikipedia