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Israel Copter Crash in Romania
By Judah Grunstein
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28 Jul 2010
It hasn't gotten a lot of attention yet, but the Israeli helicopter that crashed in Romania is actually a major story. The copter had flown non-stop to Romania, with an in-flight refueling over Greece, as part of a "joint" air exercise designed to sharpen the IAF's long-range search-and-rescue capabilities in unfamiliar terrain. In the past, the IAF has conducted similar drills, as well as long-range mock bombing runs, in Greek airspace.
The implications of this latest setback for Israel's military on a theoretical airstrike against Iran are significant. If this was a psychological operation targeting Tehran, it backfired. If it was an operational training exercise, it revealed a level of unpreparedness that puts such an operation in doubt.