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Operation Opera

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Operation Opera

Map of the attack.
DateJune 7, 1981
Location
Osirak nuclear reactor, Iraq
33°12′30″N 44°31′30″E / 33.20833°N 44.52500°E / 33.20833; 44.52500
Result Reactor heavily damaged
Belligerents
Israel Iraq
Strength
8 F-16A fighters
6 F-15A fighters		 Unknown numbers of radar and Anti-aircraft artillery
Casualties and losses
None 10 Iraqi soldiers and 1 French researcher killed

Operation Opera (also known as Operation Babylon or Operation Ofra) are the Israeli Air Force designations used to describe an Israeli air strike against the Iraqi Osirak nuclear reactor (French: Osirak; Iraqi: Tammuz 1).

In the late 1970s, Iraq purchased an "Osiris class" nuclear reactor from France. Israeli military intelligence assumed this was for the purpose of plutonium production to further an Iraqi nuclear weapons program. Israeli intelligence also believed that the summer of 1981 would be the last chance to destroy the reactor without exposing the Iraqi civilian population to nuclear fallout. After that point, the reactor would be loaded with nuclear fuel.

On June 7, 1981, a squadron of Israeli F-16A fighter aircraft, with an escort of F-15As, bombed and heavily damaged the Osirak reactor.

Iraq's nuclear program

Iraq had established a nuclear program sometime in the 1960s, and in the mid-1970s looked to expand it through the acquisition of a nuclear reactor. After failing to convince the French government to sell them a gas-graphite plutonium producing reactor and reprocessing plant, and likewise failing to convince the Italian government to sell them a Cirene reactor, the Iraqi government convinced the French government to sell them an Osiris-class research reactor and accompanying laboratories.

Construction for the 40-megawatt light-water nuclear reactor began in 1979 at the Al Tuwaitha Nuclear Center near Baghdad. The reactor was dubbed Osirak (Osiraq) by the French, blending the name of Iraq with that of the reactor class. Iraq named the reactor "Tammuz 1" after the month in the Arabic calendar that the Baath Party came to power in 1968.[1]

Israeli diplomatic reactions

File:Menachem.jpg
Menachem Begin, at the time, Prime Minister of Israel and in charge of Opera.

Israel learned of the existence of the reactor program during Yitzchak Rabin’s term in office, and, fearing that the reactor would be used in the production of nuclear weapons, viewed Iraqi possession of a nuclear reactor as a direct threat.

Iraq protested that its interest in nuclear energy was peaceful, and at the time Iraq was a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), placing its reactors under International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) safeguards. Some experts remained unconvinced that the IAEA monitoring program was sufficient to guarantee that weapon research was not being conducted. They also claimed that an Osiris class reactor was not particularly useful to countries which have no established reactor programs, but that it was capable of producing plutonium.

Israel first pursued a diplomatic solution to the situation. Israel's foreign minister Moshe Dayan pursued diplomatic negotiations with France, Italy (Israel maintained that some Italian firms acted as suppliers and sub-contractors), and the United States. However, Israel failed to obtain assurances that the reactor program would be halted, and was not able to convince the French governments of Valéry Giscard d'Estaing and François Mitterrand to cease aiding the Iraqi nuclear program.

Israeli military reactions

File:IsraeliF16.jpg
An Israeli F-16 multi-role fighter. Used as ground assault aircraft in the operation.
An Israeli F-15A tactical fighter. Used as air support for the operation.

As Israel could not find a satisfactory diplomatic solution, it turned to the option of a unilateral military action to remove the perceived threat.

Operational planning

The distance between Israeli military bases and the reactor site was significant (over 1000 miles), as it meant the military forces would be operating without easy resupply capability, and would have to act across Jordanian and Saudi territory. Additionally, Israeli intelligence could not guarantee certain knowledge of the state of Iraqi defenses.

After much deliberation, the Israeli military finally concluded that a squadron of heavily fueled, and heavily armed F-16As, with a group of F-15As to provide air cover and fighter support, could perform a "surgical strike" to eliminate the reactor site, without having to refuel.

Israeli military also decided that it was essential to destroy the reactor before it was loaded with nuclear fuel, in order to minimize the effects of the reactor's destruction on the civilian population.

Having intelligence that the reactor's fuel rods were scheduled to be shipped to Iraq from France, the Israeli cabinet (then under the leadership of Menachem Begin) authorized the operation.

The attack

Operation Opera was carefully planned for a Sunday to minimise the loss of lives of any foreign workers and the late-afternoon attack was designed so as to provide the Israeli Combat Search and Rescue Team (CSAR), all night to search for any downed Israeli pilots.

An Israeli Air Force squadron of 8 F-16As was outfitted, each with two unguided Mark-84 2000-pound time-delay fused heavy bombs, and external fuel tanks. A squadron of 6 F-15As was also assigned to the operation to provide fighter support for the F-16As.

On June 7 1981 at 15:55 local time (12:55 GMT), the plan was set in motion. The task force left Etzion Air Force base in the Negev (at the time Israel's closest air base to Iraq), flying low (240m/750 feet) unchallenged over Jordanian and Saudi airspace.

1,000km (600 miles) into their flight, the operation was complicated by the F-16As external fuel tanks. The planes were so heavily loaded that the external tanks were exhausted while the task force was still en route to the Osirak facility. These tanks were designed to be jettisoned, but not to be jettisoned while the plane was still loaded with the Mark-84 bombs; there was a possibility that the tanks could become entangled in the weapon mounts once released.[citation needed] Fortunately for the Israeli pilots, this did not occur, and the squadron of F-16As managed to safely jettison their empty external tanks over the Saudi desert.

Upon reaching Iraqi airspace, the squadron split up, with two of the F-15s forming close escort to the F-16 squadron, and the remaining F-15s dispersing into Iraqi airspace as a diversion and ready back-up.

The attack squadron decended to 30m (100 ft) over the Iraqi desert, attempting to fly under the radar of the Iraqi defenses.

At 18:35 local time (17:35 Israeli time/14:35 GMT), 20km from the Osirak reactor complex, the F-16 formation climbed to 7,000 feet (2,100m) and went into a 35-degree dive at 600 knots, aimed at the reactor complex. At 3,500 feet (1,100m), the F-16s began releasing the Mark-84s in pairs, at 5-second intervals. According to the Israeli reports, all sixteen weapons struck the reactor complex, although two apparently did not detonate. As the anti-aircraft defenses opened fire, the squadron climbed to an altitude of 40,000 feet (12,200m) and headed for home. According to Israeli reports, the Iraqi defenses were caught off guard, and were slow to react. In any case, the anti-aircraft defenses of the facility did not manage to damage any of the attacking squadron.

Despite the fears of encountering Iraqi interceptors, the squadron remained unchallenged, and returned to Israeli airspace by the route they had followed to Osirak.

The results

The reactor complex was heavily damaged, according to plan. Eleven men — ten Iraqi soldiers and one French civilian researcher — were killed in the attack. Since that time, it has been proposed by some commentators that the French researcher, Damien Chaussepied, was actually a Mossad agent who was responsible for placing homing beacons on site for the aircraft to follow, although no incontrovertible evidence for this has yet been presented. [2]

Israel claimed that these casualties were mostly due to stray anti-aircraft fire from the Iraqi defenses, and not from the bombardment itself.

None of the Israeli task force's planes were damaged by Iraqi defenses. Although almost out of fuel, all fourteen jets returned to Israeli territory and landed safely.

International political reaction

File:OsirakUN.jpg
A United Nations vehicle at the destroyed Osirak Nuclear Reactor, 1981.

At the time, the attack was widely criticized. Israel responded that its actions were self-defensive and thus justifiable under Article 51 of the United Nations Charter. Many critics, however, rejected the idea of "pre-emptive self-defense". France, in particular, was outraged over the loss of a French national as a result of the attack, and since the raid diplomatic ties between France and Israel have remained strained.

The United Nations Security Council passed Resolution 487, calling upon Israel "to place its nuclear facilities under IAEA safeguards", and stated that Iraq was "entitled to appropriate redress for the destruction it [had] suffered". Israel has not complied with these requests.

The United States supported the resolution condemning the Israeli action, and, temporarily, withheld a contingent of aircraft already promised to Israel.

Since that time, opinion has altered somewhat. Most notably several prominent US politicians — now that the United States is engaged in her own conflict with Iraq — have "retroactively supported" the operation. Those who believe that Iraq was pursuing nuclear weapons in the 1980s view Operation Opera as necessary action, even if the legality of such action under international law is a contested point.

Results

The operation was a success. The reactor complex was put out of commission, and the Iraqi nuclear program set back considerably. Iraq said it would rebuild the facility, and France agreed, in principle, to aid in the reconstruction. However, in 1984, France withdrew from the project.

Some Iraqi researchers have claimed since then that the Iraqi nuclear program simply went "underground", diversified, and expanded [3]. Iraq's attempts to create a (potentially) plutonium producing reactor seemed to have a much lower priority in this new program.

The Osirak facility remained a damaged facility, until the Gulf War, where a series of US air strikes, over a prolonged period of bombardment, finally destroyed the site completely.

Politically, the operation yielded handsome results for the ruling Likud Party led by Begin as it was reelected to power with a strong mandate in the elections that were held three weeks later.

Quotations

  • "Israel’s citizens, together with Jews and Arabs, American, and other coalition soldiers who fought in the Gulf War may owe their lives to Israel’s courage, skill, and foresight in June 1981. Had it not been for the brilliant raid at Osiraq, Saddam’s forces might have been equipped with atomic warheads in 1991. Ironically, the Saudis, too, are in Jerusalem’s debt. Had it not been for Prime Minister Begin’s resolve to protect the Israeli people in 1981, Iraq’s SCUDs falling on Saudi Arabia might have spawned immense casualties and lethal irradiation." -- Professor Louis Rene Beres
  • "Deterrence was not attained by other countries – France and Italy – and even the United States. It was attained by the State of Israel and its Prime Minster who decided, acted and created a fact that no one in the world today – with the exception of our enemies – regrets." -- Yitzhak Shamir
  • "We are about to fly a course over Eilat and Aqaba, and then south of Jordan along Saudi Arabia's border. This route is planned to avoid Arab villages and cities where we might be discovered, so we will fly over desert area until Baghdad. This is not the shortest path to fly, but it would avoid radar detection, so we will remain undetected just until we get over target. On the way to the target we will fly at an altitude of 150 ft. On our way back we will fly at high altitude. We are short on fuel! Those who get engaged in dogfights won't make it back!"
  • "About 20 km east to the reactor we will ignite the afterburner to full power and start a climb. At the peak we will roll over, identify the target and dive at the speed of 600 knots at 35 degrees. Release the bombs at an altitude of 3,500 feet, aiming at the base of the structure, and release flares to avoid hits by ground fire. All pilots will drop their bombs in intervals of 5 seconds - You will drop 16 bombs in total, but a hit of 8 bombs could do the job!"
  • "You will be armed with two 1,000 kg "iron" bombs, equipped with delay fuses, to ensure explosion deep in the reactor's core to maximize the damage."
  • "The reactor has its own air defence system, combined of AAA guns and missiles. Target is surrounded by high earth ramparts."
  • "We fly deep within Iraq, it is all desert around us while we pass another marking point on our route. I try to concentrate on flying my F-16, but from time to time I think about the target we are about to attack, and the responsibility we've got. It's the first time in my life that I really feel responsible for the destiny of a whole nation. The view changes - a blue river in the middle of the desert. We have been here 2500 years ago... I see buildings and a deserted airfield. Somebody calls over the radio, 'Watch out for AAA fire!', and the sky gets filled with flashes of exploding rounds. I light the afterburner and pull up. Just in front of my eyes I see the earth ramparts and behind it - you can't miss - the silver dome of the reactor..."
  • " 'Eshkol 8' sounds the radio, 'Everybody Charlie!' - Charlie was the code name meaning all pilots have dropped their bombs."
  • "It was amazing - I managed to see how the bombs of the pilots in front of me hit the target and the dome collapsed into the structure ! The hits were excellent, and now we fly at high altitude back to our base. I hope they didn't start a chase, to run us out of fuel..."
  • "We cross the Arava and we are back in Israel. The IAF commander calls on the radio, and says: 'All you have to do now is land'... "

Notes

  1. ^ [http://www.fas.org/nuke/guide/iraq/facility/osiraq.htm
  2. ^ Ostrovsky and Claire Hoy proposes that a French researcher was a paid Mossad agent and responsible for guiding in the aircraft, but does not name him. Derogy and Hesi Carmel, p. 86, identify him as Damien Chaussepied.
  3. ^ http://cns.miis.edu/pubs/week/040812.htm

See also

Further information

References

  • Jewish Virtual Library,, 2006
  • F-16.net, 2006
  • Kate Cooch (April 2006). "Intelligence". Military Heritage. 7 (5): 14–17, 66.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: year (link)

Publications

  • Timothy L. H. McCormack, Self-Defense in International Law: The Israeli Raid on the Iraqi Nuclear Reactor, ISBN 0-312-16279-0
  • Rodger Claire, Raid on the Sun : Inside Israel's Secret Campaign that Denied Saddam the Bomb, ISBN 0-7679-1400-7
  • Judy Ellen Sund, Amos Perlmutter Two Minutes Over Baghdad, ISBN 0-7146-8347-7
  • Clinton Dan McKinnon, Dan McKinnon, Bullseye One Reactor, ISBN 0-941437-07-8
  • Jacques Derogy and Hesi Carmel, Israel ultra-secret, Paris, Robert Laffont, 1989
  • Victor Ostrovsky and Claire Hoy, Mossad, un agent des services secrets israeliens parle, 1990 (English original: By Way of Deception. The Making and Unmaking of a Mossad Officer, St. Martin's Press, 1990.)
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