The Opposing Weapons

After the outbreak of the October war, the U.S. and the Soviet Union launched massive armadas to resupply their allies in the Middle East. The military shipments continue. Today both sides have not only replaced their losses but added to their prewar inventories. By some estimates, Israel and Syria, the two likeliest protagonists in any new shooting war, are at least one-third again as strong as they were when fighting erupted last year. If fighting should break out in the near future, the score sheet would be as follows:

SYRIA lost 103 of its 200 MIG-21 jets in the October war, and 36 of its 80 MIG-17s. The U.S.S.R. has not only replaced all the downed planes with fast MIG-21s but given the Syrians 45 MIG-23 fighter-bombers, the Russian equivalents of the vaunted U.S. F-4 Phantoms. To fly them, the Syrians have cadres of Soviet-trained Cuban and North Korean pilots. In addition, the Russians have given the Syrians 30 Scud ground-to-ground missiles, which have a range of 180 miles and could hit both Jerusalem and Tel Aviv from positions well within Syria; for battlefield support, Moscow has sent 100 Frog missiles, which have a range of about 45 miles.

On the ground, Syria may have gained even more. It lost 600 of its 1,170 tanks last year; the Soviets have provided 800 new ones, including the standby of the Red Army, the 36.5-ton T-62. The Syrians, moreover, apparently know how to use those tanks. At the same time the Russians have shipped the Syrians an estimated 6,000 Sagger antitank missiles.

EGYPT, like Syria, was hastily resupplied by Moscow last year. All of the 650 tanks lost in the Sinai desert--more than a third of Cairo's 1,880-tank force --were replaced, along with all the destroyed or captured SA-6 and SA-7 antiaircraft missiles that proved to be so devastating to the Israeli air force. Egypt, however, is short of spare parts, and it is probably still missing about a dozen of the 150 MIGS that the Israelis shot down. In a move to redress the balance, the Egyptians are getting 36 Mirage V fighter-bombers ordered from France by Saudi Arabia; the first three are already in Egypt.

ISRAEL has not only expanded its arsenal but greatly increased the sophistication of its weapons. All but one of the 55 A-4 Skyhawks lost have been replaced, and the U.S. has sent 47 Phantoms in place of the 35 that were downed or damaged last year. More Skyhawks and Phantoms have been promised by Washington. All together, the Israelis now have 100 more planes than they had last year, for a total of 626. From their 1973 losses, the Israelis have learned how better to counter the dreaded Soviet SAMS, and along with the planes, the U.S. has provided sophisticated air-to-ground missiles to home in on enemy radar.

On the ground, Israel is stronger in both numbers and gadgetry. Of its 1,728 tanks, 840 were put out of commission in the October fighting. The Israelis were able, however, to repair 300 of them; in addition, they captured 420 tanks from the Arab armies and have received 450 more from the U.S. The net gain: 330. Another 600 are on order from the U.S. The U.S. M60, mainstay of the Israeli tank force, proved itself to be superior to even the Soviet T-62 in accuracy, gun range and shell penetration. Equipped with computer range finders, the M-60 allowed the Israelis to make a high percentage of first-shot kills; the T-62 usually had to be shot at least once to test its range. The Israelis have, together with the new tanks, 100 ultrasophisticated TOW antitank missile launchers, along with 2,000 warheads that can destroy targets with almost unerring accuracy.

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The U.S. supply effort has been so swift and generous that some American military units at home and in Europe have been severely squeezed. Production of the M-60 tank is limited to 40 a month, and since most of the tanks shipped to Israel have been M-60s (along with some older M-48s), American tank units are hard-pressed for vehicles. At Fort Knox, the chief tank training center in the U.S., the few tanks available are rotated from one school to another. The drain on American reserves has caused some grumbling in the Pentagon, where generals complain that the Israelis come in with an endless shopping list and "want more and more, faster and faster."

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