This electronic thesis or dissertation has been downloaded from the King’s Research Portal at https://kclpure.kcl.ac.uk/portal/ The evolution of Egyptian air defence strategy 1967-1973. Nader, Marouf Suleiman Bakhit The copyright of this thesis rests with the author and no quotation from it or information derived from it may be published without proper acknowledgement. END USER LICENCE AGREEMENT Unless another licence is stated on the immediately following page this work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International licence. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ You are free to copy, distribute and transmit the work Under the following conditions: Attribution: You must attribute the work in the manner specified by the author (but not in any way that suggests that they endorse you or your use of the work). Non Commercial: You may not use this work for commercial purposes. No Derivative Works - You may not alter, transform, or build upon this work. Any of these conditions can be waived if you receive permission from the author. Your fair dealings and other rights are in no way affected by the above. Take down policy If you believe that this document breaches copyright please contact [email protected] providing details, and we will remove access to the work immediately and investigate your claim. Download date: 11. Oct. 2021 ULL ITEM BARCODE UNIVERSITY OF LON DOb 19 0328573 1 VVD Degree Year ýc(lj C) Name Of A'uthor WAVZ-P, Ak- S COPYRIGHT This is thesis for Higher Degree the University London. a accepted a of , of It is an unpublished typescript and the copyright Is',,held by the author. An persons consulting the thesis must read'and abide by the Copyright Declaration below. COPYRIGHT DECLARA71ON I 'recognise that the copyright of the above-described thesis rests with the author and that no quotation from it or information' derived from it may be published w.ithout the prior written consent of the author. LOAN Theses may not be lent to'individuals, but the University Library may lend a copy to approved libraries within Great Britain, for consultation solely on the premises of those libraries. Application should be made to: ' Theses Section, ' University of London Libraryt Senate House, Malet Street, London WME 7HU. REPRODUC71ON University of London theses may not be reproduced without explicit 'written permission from the University of London Library. Enquiries and orders should be addressed to the Theses Section of'the Library. ý Regulations concerning reproduction vary according to the date of acceptance of the thesis and are listed below as guidelines. A. Before 1962. Permission granted only upon the prior written consent . I of the author. (The'University Librarv Will. addresses where Possible. ) ýDrovide B. 1962-1974, 'copying Ifi'many cases the author'has surreed to permit upon completion of a Copyright Declaration. C. 1975-1988. Most theses be Copyright Declaration. may copied upon','-c! ompletion of a D. 1989 OnwardýL Most theses'may be copied. This thesis comes within category D. This copy has been deposited in the Unive'r's"itYof i6ýdbn Libraryt'Senate House, Malet Streetv London WME 7HU. 10/013/THESESLABE EJR/DW/23/8/88 THE EVOLUTION OF EGYPTIAN AIR DEFENCE STRATEGY 1967-1973 Marouf Suleiman Bakhit Nader 1 .9 et C3 Thesis submitted for the degree of PhD, University of London. Tanuary 1990. Department of War Studies, King's College. 010`0'71,114ý1- Abstract of Thesis The 1973 War was unlike previous ware in the Middle East: the Egyptians decided on a new way of fighting, relying primarily on ground-based air defences for protection against the Israeli Air Force. It was only following the disaster of 1967 that Egypt's military strategy had undergone major revision. Thus, during the period immediately preceding the 1973 War the structure of Egyptian forces was drastically modified, with a significant shift in the balance between aircraft and anti-aircraft weapons in favour of defensive equipment, which indicated the change in Egyptian air strategy. Exactly why and how Egypt changed to this strategy are the central questions posed in this study. In exploring the conditions which led to the change, this thesis argues that it was during the Egyptian Armed Forces reconstruction period (1967-1970) that the air defence strategy evolved. Egypt was drawn to this strategy by a combination of indigenous and exogenous factors. The study identifies four main ones: the struggle within the Army Command over the structure of the Armed Forces; increasing public -). x pressure on the Egyptian leadership to start the War of Attrition prematurely, coupled with the pressure of time on the reconstruction plan; the Israeli response to the War of Attrition (1969-1970); and finally, Soviet influence. These factors are discussed in- separate chapters, followed by an examination of when and how this process of change was formalized. Finally, a discussion of the new Egyptian strategy in action provides further assessment. Although the internal factors were decisive in bringing about the i external ones, all were needed for the change to take place. The conclusion draws these strands together into an overall assessment of the process by which the Egyptian air defence strategy developed. ii Acknowledgement First of all, I am indebted to the Jordanian Armed Forces for allowing me this opportunity to study at King's College, and providing me with the occasion to pursue my education and expand my knowledge. In this, my thanks are above all due to the progressive policies and wise leadership of the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, His Majesty King Hussein. I wish to thank particularly HRH Crown Prince Hassan bin Talal for his personal concern, for his truly generous assistance,. and for his help in securing interviews with senior Egyptian officials. Without his total support my task would have been far more difficult; therefore, I am extremely grateful. I wish also to express my gratitude to HE Marshal Sharif Zeid bin Shaker for his personal support and for his help in arranging my visit to Egypt, and to General Fathi Abu Talib for his encouragement and help. I am Indebted to the many persons - officials, officers, academics, public-and private-sector employees, and citizens, whether active or retired, both in Jordan and Britain - who gave me their time and attention, and to all Egyptian officials and military officers whose interviews were truly invaluable. Finally, my sincere thanks to my supervisor Dr. Philip Sabin for his guidance and useful suggestions, dedication and patience during my research. iii Table of Contents i Abstract ............................................................. iii Acknowledgements ................................................... iv Table of Contents ................................................... Figures List of Tables and ........................................... v Abbreviations List of ............................................... Vi I Introduction ......................................................... Chapter One: Egypt's 24 Air Power and Wars, 1932-1967 ................... Chapter Two: The Internal 64 Conflict .................................. Chapter Three: The Time Factor 106 ..................................... Chapter Four: 155 The Israeli Response to The War of Attrition ......... Chapter Five: The Soviet Role 204 ......... I ............................ Chapter 254 Six: Search for Strategy: From Total War to Limited War .... Chapter Seven: The Air Defence Strategy in Action: The October War.. 298 Conclusion 356 ......................................................... Appendix One: Data on Aircraft/Anti-Aircraft Weapon Systems During the 1967-1973 Period 371 .......................... iv List of Tables and Figures Figure One: The Decision-Making Structure of the Egyptian Forces before 69 Armed 1967 ..... .......................... Figure Two: The New Decision-Making Structure of the Egyptian Armed Forces ........................................... 96 Table One: Air Force/Air Defence Strength Targets Achievement 117 end ................................. Figure Three: Pilot Training 123 Courses Overlap ....................... Figure 141 Four: Weapons Build Up: Aircraft and SAM Launchers .......... V List of Abbreviations AAA Anti Aircraft Artillery AA Anti Aircraft AAM Air to Air Missile AFSC Armed Forces Supreme Council APC Armoured Personnel Carrier ASM Air to Surface Missile ASU Arab Socialist Union (in Egypt) C-in-C Commander in Chief Cos Chief of Staff EAF Egyptian Air Force ECCM Electronic Counter Counter Measures ECM Electronic Counter Measures EW Electronic Warfare GHQ General Headquarters HEC ýHigh Executive Committee (in Egypt) IAF Israel Air Force IFF Identification Friend or Foe IISS International Institute for Strategic Studies PC Presidential Council (in Egypt) RAF Royal Air Force (UK) RCC Revolutionary Command Council (in Egypt) SAM Surface to Air Missile SSM Surface to Surface Missile vi iIý INTRODUCTION As the numerous and bloody ware in the Middle East have shown, the Arabs have, in the past,, been extremely slow to develop effective strategies for the confrontation -with Israel. The lessons, however, have not gone unlearned, and each successive war has' further stimulated the Arab nations to modernize and improve their military capability. I 'Only following the disaster of 1967 did Egypt's military strategy undergo major revision. During the period immediately preceding the 1973 War the structure