2ND LEAD
Kfir shot over Ira'naimadu
[TamilNet, Monday, 30 April 2007, 11:22 GMT]
Sri Lanka Air Force's (SLAF's) Israeli-built fast attack Kfir aircraft which took off from Katunayake Air Force base Monday on a bombing raid south of Ira'naimadu between around 3:00 p.m. spewed large cloud of smoke as the jet suspended the bombing raid and struggled to maintain height, traders in Kilinochchi who saw the troubled aircraft said. Meanwhile, unconfirmed reports from Colombo said a Kfir has failed to return to Katunayake base.
Military officials of the Liberation Tigers told TamilNet that their anti-aircraft defence system is automatically activated when an intrusive aircraft is detected in Ira'naimadu area.
Defence analysts have previously speculated that either the LTTE does not have Surface to Air Missiles (SAMs), or the types the LTTE possesses are outdated and cannot be used against supersonic fighters of the calibre of Kfirs.
Sri Lanka deploys Israel Aircraft Industries (IAI) built Kfir bombers in air raids on LTTE territory.
The SLAF is known to own 12 Kfir bombers (two TC.2s, two C.7s and eight C.2s).
Kfir, meaning "Lion Cub" in Hebrew, is an all-weather, single seat multi-task combat aircraft based on a modified Dassault Mirage 5 airframe.
Israeli made Kfir Jets (use US General Electric made Jet engines) used in Eelam wars by Sri Lanka Air Force
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