ABSTRACT
The Israeli air force’s battle to stop the movement of the Egyptian-Soviet missile network toward the canal was, in fact, a battle for the Bar Lev line. The General Staff rejected all suggestions that the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) should abandon or shorten the canal line defenses. These came almost exclusively from middle-grade officers, those closest to the fighting along the canal. Nixon ordered that electronic countermeasure equipment be dispatched to Israel for installation on Israeli planes to protect them against the Egyptian and Soviet surface-to-air missiles. The American electronic countermeasure equipment was flown to Israel immediately and mounted forthwith on the Phantoms. The American technicians who brought the equipment assured Israeli pilots that it would protect them from Soviet missiles. At IDF headquarters and among the small group of Israeli political leaders who were immediately informed of the air battle, there was great rejoicing.
