The Mirage - an Airplane That Had a State

The Development of Fighter Aircraft in the Context of Long-Term Historical Processes:

Fighter Aircraft - A Mirror of Geopolitical Change

The development of fighter aircraft typically occurs within the framework of an international arms race. This race is influenced by numerous political, economic, and technological factors, and it evolves over time. Military requirements change over time, in accordance with shifts in security perceptions and geopolitical threats. The development of fighter aircraft must adapt to these requirements and is therefore influenced by broader social and political factors.

The High Cost and Long-Term Impact of Fighter Aircraft Development

The development of fighter aircraft is a very expensive project, requiring significant government and industrial investments. The process takes a long time and requires continuous support over many years. It has a significant impact on society and the economy. It leads to the creation of new jobs, drives research and development in other fields, and contributes to overall technological progress. These effects occur over time and are not immediate.

The Multidisciplinary Nature of Fighter Aircraft Development

The design, production, deployment, and upgrading of fighter aircraft are processes based on many fields of knowledge, such as aerodynamics, metallurgy, engines, and electronics. Progress in these fields over time is essential. When an aircraft is successful, its lifespan can span several generations, up to 100 years.

The Long View of History - Understanding Change Over Time

This argument aligns with a theory in historical research that emphasizes the importance of long-term processes and gradual changes in understanding the past. Scholars specializing in this theory use diverse sources, including archival documents alongside statistical data, and they focus on broad structures over time, such as social, economic, and cultural changes. Understanding these processes is crucial for a deeper comprehension of the past and its effects on the present. This theory contrasts with other historical perspectives that focus on specific events and central figures as decisive factors in shaping history.

Mirage 3 - The Key to Air Superiority:

Israel's Guardian Angel

The Mirage 3 reigned supreme in the skies during the 1960s, and Israel acquired a substantial number of them early in that decade. 

This aircraft instilled a sense of security in an entire generation of young Israelis who felt that their existence and future were guaranteed because of it. 

A popular children's film with a romantic touch, "Shmone Ba'Ikvot Echad" ("Eight in Pursuit of One") [1964], was even made about a spy searching for the aircraft's secrets at a military base, and the children of the nearby kibbutz capturing him.

National Miracle

The delta-winged aircraft was the best interceptor of its time in the Middle Eastern skies and gave Israel air superiority. These planes were the spearhead of the Israeli Air Force in the Six-Day War of 1967 and contributed significantly to the resounding victory in that war. The word "Mirage," meaning "desert illusion", became almost synonymous with the victory.

Israel's Aerospace Ambitions - Taking Flight from the Start:

From its earliest days, Israel invested in the indigenous development of aircraft, despite the endeavor being considered a highly expensive and volatile startup. Ben Gurion Airport in Lod became the central hub for the Israeli aerospace industry, which today stands as one of the most advanced in the world.

Mirage 5 Evolution - From Interceptor to Attacker

The Mirage 5 aircraft was designed by the Israeli aerospace industry before the Six-Day War. Israel developed it in collaboration with France, as early as 1966, as an improved version of the Mirage 3, intended for air-to-ground attacks. The Mirage 5s were revolutionary compared to the Mirage 3s, which were primarily designed for interception. The Mirage 5 could carry 4 tons of bombs compared to only one ton carried by the Mirage 3, and it was much cheaper and simpler.

From Embargo to the Birth of the Nesher

On the eve of the Six-Day War, France, which was Israel's sole supplier of aircraft at the time, imposed an embargo on arms shipments to the Middle East, preventing the delivery of the 50 Mirage 5s that Israel had ordered. After the war, Israel managed to obtain, through indirect means, all the aircraft's blueprints and produced it in the early 1970s under the name "Nesher." This was despite the complex moral dilemma involved in manufacturing without obtaining the patents and production rights. 

"Israel is an Airplane" - The Kfir's Legacy

In the second phase, Israel developed a semi-original version of the aircraft, with an American engine, under the name "Kfir." It produced a considerable number of them, based on its security needs, and even exported them to several countries, where some of them are still in service today. The investment in the "Kfir" was enormous and required a reorganization of the aerospace industry. It gave rise to the expression that "Israel is an airplane that has a country."

Mirage of Security:

The Sinai Dream

The phrase "a plane that has a country" held a deeper meaning for Israel. The aspiration to produce a large and powerful fleet of "Nesher" and "Kfir" aircraft, providing the nation with long-term security, merged with a broader political outlook that rejected confronting the complex reality in the territories captured during the Six-Day War. The triangular shape of the Sinai Peninsula seemed to mirror the wings of the Mirage, becoming a sort of "desert mirage."

Military Over Diplomacy

This imagery served as the foundation for official policy, disregarding peace proposals offered by Egypt and the U.S. Without a concrete plan for the future of the territories, Israel relied on its military might, particularly its domestically produced Mirage 5 aircraft with their long-range strike capabilities, as a deterrent against any potential attack.

Flawed Intelligence

A small group of senior intelligence officers formulated a "conception" supporting this approach. They argued that as long as Egypt also lacked long-range strike aircraft, it wouldn't dare attack Israel. This notion, based on an illusion of military and territorial superiority, was endorsed by the political leadership and led to a situation where, on the eve of the Yom Kippur War, abstract concepts overshadowed practical considerations in national security perception. The eve of the war, which broke out on October 6, 1973, found Israel in a state of surprising unpreparedness. 

 

The Mirage 5's Legacy:

French Betrayal - Egypt's Armament  with Mirage 5

As early as 1970, a deal was struck between France and Libya, an enemy of Israel and an ally of Egypt, for the supply of 110 Mirage 5 aircraft, an improved copy of the planes Israel itself had designed. Given the precedent of Israel stealing the aircraft's plans, the French likely did this without any qualms. This was despite the fact that these planes were originally intended for Egypt, Israel's arch-enemy. The French embargo on the eve of the Six-Day War also included Egypt. Nevertheless, the planes were gifted to Egypt by Libya, starting in 1972.

Egypt's Military Shift From Soviet to French

Up until then, the Egyptians had relied on Soviet aircraft. They wanted to launch a war against Israel, but the USSR delayed the delivery of modern long-range strike aircraft, such as the MiG and Sukhoi, as it wanted to ensure Egypt's long-term dependence on it. The Egyptians were reluctant to start a war until they had such aircraft, and the Mirage 5s received from Libya became a suitable substitute. The Israeli government and the officers who formulated the "conception" ignored the fact that Egypt was receiving superior strike aircraft from France, in greater quantity and quality than the Soviets had planned to provide.

A Wide Door for Egypt to the West

It's interesting to ponder whether the government and military leaders' disregard for the implications of the deal was intentional. Undoubtedly, it opened a wide door for Egypt to the West, something Israel also desired. 

Hostility had prevailed between Egypt and the Western powers since Nasser nationalized the Suez Canal in 1956. 

Consequently, a complacent "wait and see" attitude developed among decision-makers. This attitude was incompatible with the vigilance expected of military personnel towards an enemy.

The Yom Kippur War - Yellow Triangles on Israeli Mirages

Just as the Mirage 3s prompted Israel to launch a surprise attack in the Six-Day War, the Mirage 5s motivated the Egyptians to launch a surprise attack on October 6, 1973. They became a central weapon in their arsenal, and during the war, they used them to strike deep into the Sinai Peninsula. To avoid misidentifying the Egyptian Mirages in the air, the Israeli Air Force had to paint the wings of its own Mirages with yellow triangles, reminiscent of the Star of David patches the Nazis forced Jews to sew onto their clothing.

The Mirage's Lingering and painful Impact

In this war, Israel found itself, to its surprise, in a situation where a sophisticated and powerful aircraft it had developed itself, and which was critical to its security, was gifted, in practically unlimited quantities, to the very enemy for which the plane was developed. Moreover, the businessman behind this roundabout deal, who also planned a similar deal with Saudi Arabia, was an Egyptian who was also Israel's top spy. He was close to Egyptian President Sadat and provided Israel with a hasty, last-minute warning about Egypt's intention to go to war. Nevertheless, Israel was surprised and unprepared for the Egyptian surprise attack. 

The entire affair, in the spirit of the name "Mirage," became a bitter mirage for the Israeli leadership and significantly impacted its intelligence, military, and political actions to this day.

The Shift in Israel's Military Supply to American Reliance:

Nixon's Ultimatum

At the very start of the French embargo, Prime Minister Golda Meir traveled from Jerusalem to Washington to request an immediate replacement for the Mirage 5. The primary source for Israel's fighter jets became the United States, which supplied it with "Phantom" and "Skyhawk" aircraft, which were also of higher quality. Nixon conditioned the supply on the revocation, under the Law of Return, of the Israeli citizenship of Meyer Lansky, the American-Jewish casino magnate who had aided Israel, through Golda, during its difficult times in the War of Independence.

The Lavi's Legacy - A Dream Fade Out

The phrase "a plane that has a country" is even more fitting for the Israeli aircraft designed in the 1980s to replace the "Kfir" - the "Lavi," which was an original Israeli design from start to finish. The United States partnered in its development and funding. At an advanced stage of development, after the prototype had conducted its maiden flights, the Americans decided to halt funding for the project. 

The cancellation of the project diverted thousands of engineers to the high-tech industry, creating the foundation for the Israeli "Startup Nation." Today, no fighter jets are developed or manufactured in the Israeli aerospace industry. 

The Lavi and the Mirage 5 are remembered more as mirages. The peace agreement with Egypt, under which Israel returned the entire Sinai Peninsula captured in the Six-Day War, largely contributed to pushing the issue out of historical memory.

Dependence on U.S. Aid

Today, the State of Israel relies on the United States and is entirely dependent on it for the supply of fighter jets. The United States provides it with advanced fighter jets that cost a fortune, and their cost constitutes the majority of the fixed annual military grant to Israel, which amounts to over three billion dollars. The accumulated sum since the grant began, about fifty years ago, reaches hundreds of billions of dollars. It's unknown if and when the tables will turn, and the U.S. administration will decide to reduce or completely eliminate it. The Israeli government and its citizens have become accustomed to taking this grant for granted. If it were to be canceled, the end of the state, as it currently exists, would be swift.

Swift Victories with Lasting Impact

The aerial arms race is expensive and prolonged, but its outcome is often determined within a few hours. The decision is reached based on a slight advantage. In aerial warfare, a slight technological edge, achieved through years of technological effort, is the key to victory. 

One recent example is the victory Israel achieved against Iran in the "Swords of Iron" war: Iran launched hundreds of missiles at Israel within a few hours. About 99 percent of them were intercepted by Israel's air defense systems, developed over approximately 30 years. This swift victory may shape the political future of the region for many years to come. 

The "Kfir" aircraft

Paul Virilio - Camera movement over eighty years

The properties of the element of fire guide Virilio in writing on the subject. Fire is an almost imageless element, except for three: light, heat, immediacy. The light according to Virilio is the light of the camera, the heat is the weapon, the immediacy is the decision making.

Virilio reviews how the development of the camera was due to the development of the machine gun, and in general how the development of cinematic photography was due to the consequences of various military developments. Observation and visual intelligence are the cornerstone of the military. That is why they have been at the forefront of technology since the dawn of history to the present day. As the weapons became more sophisticated and the slaughter on the battlefield increased, so did the need for more sophisticated means of observation. The observation plane became the most effective means, and in this way the battlefield, and later the whole world, also became cinematic. The war itself became a spectacular visual spectacle, due to the sophistication of the night lights and the intensity of the shells, in parallel with the sophistication of the defenses against them, trenches and fortifications, which created a sense of disconnection.

The function of the camera is first to connect the fragments of the whole that are revealed to it in separate images, into one complete image. Unlike more modern photography, which focuses on details and create resolutions. Nowadays, with the development of means of observation also for the invisible, such as infrared and radar, and other electronic means, the problem is the management of the information that comes from them, which is the most reliable, but also dense. This created the need for computing, and from there it was a short way to make automatic decisions. In this way the war became a nonstop film, and the nonstop time management replaced the management of space. There was also an obsession with stealth weapons, simulations, and electronic deception. As a result, the war became impersonal and intangible.

Because the sense of reality went wrong, so did human reason. The need to filter information under the conditions of human-machine combined activity was first discovered in World War II, with the sophistication of air defense equipment. Thus was founded the science of cybernetics, based on the concept of the system and the feedback, and in particular the negative feedback, which allows for the screening of human errors through practices.

A detached worldview was created as a result, making motion pictures more tangible than reality. Reality, which has been imprisoned and eliminated by the electromagnetic cyber world, is being revived through the worlds of guided imagery of cinema. Movies have become the telescopic rifle through which we look at war in particular, and the world at large.

In World War II, aerial observation, which has become very sophisticated, has become the most important means of feeding raw materials for films designed to portray reality with an objective eye. But the aerial observation also turned the surface into a detached object, as in a laboratory. Everything became too clear and immediate from the air, and repeated evidence was required, as in a laboratory experiment, to confirm any report. This is due to the increasing speed and mobility of the modern ground military movement. The need for a broad verbal interpretation of the outcome of air battles and bombings, has turned silent films into talking films, among viewers in the command rooms. The ability to carry out nocturnal attacks using bright lighting and the use of radar added to the sense of cinematic detachment from reality. The speed of the decision became more important than its correctness. Mobility, the hallmark of the military force, has become a series of means of communication, sent only by the commander-in-chief to any force on the ground. Statistics have become a major tool for him in decision making.

The citizens of the home front have also became partners to the reality of the command rooms. They were attentive to alarms, under the cloud of uncertainty of the bomb approaching them on the one hand, and watched at night the spectacular spectacle of the air defense spotlights and light bombs.

A similar spectacle is currently being experienced by Israeli citizens watching from a protected area in the background during clashes in Gaza, such as in Operation ''Wall Guard'', in which trails of thousands of missiles illuminated the sky. The first Lebanon war is an early and different example of the means of sight taking over the war, using the unmanned aerial vehicles to asist the airplanes.

In World War II, the culmination of the spectacle of light and fire was the atomic bomb. Immediately after the war it was replaced by the exhaust from the jet aircraft engines, and a few years later the fire emitted by the missile engines launched into space. The Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962, which required an immediate response from the United States following fears of launching missiles from the island, expressed the empowerment of the processes that connected the observation, immediacy and weapons, that are a modern incarnation of primodial fire.

In the Vietnam War, unmanned jet aerial vehicles were used for the first time, as part of a sophisticated electronic system of aiming and collecting data from various sensors. The UAVs, and the missiles launched by pilots remotely using the Send and Forget method, contributed to the disengagement of the fighters from the war. What remains is the link between the flash of light and the war. For war as a vision in Vietnam contributed the use of drugs by soldiers. War as a cinema has become a default.

In the 1970s, the advanced flight simulator was developed, which enabled full simulation of operational flight, and became almost its replacement. The flight has become a cinematic misenscene. Strategic deterrence was also practiced through electronic war games. The computerized maps, created using the aerial scan of the surface, created a new world of computer mapping, imaging and navigation. The pilots were given an overhead display, sophisticated helmets, and the ability to fly and launch through speech and eye focus. The flight became automatic. The eye and the weapon merged.

Busby Berkeley - Dance Until The Dawn - 1931

Busby Berkeley

Born in 1895 into a show business family, William Berkeley Enos entered the Mohegan Lake Military Academy when he was 12 and graduated in 1914. 

He volunteered to serve in the American Army during World War I and while there, in the role of Artillery Officer, he organised military parades in France and later, Germany.

Shortly before the armistice, he attended a course in aerial surveillance. 

After the war, he began a career as an actor, before moving towards musical show production on Broadway, where he earned his reputation as a choreographer. 

In 1930, the producer Samuel Goldwyn invited him to participate in Thornton Freedland’s Whoopee! Two years later, Berkeley signed a seven-year contract with Warner Bros., after which he worked at the frenetic production rate of five films a year, until he joined MGM in 1939. 

Berkeley’s meticulously planned rehearsals enabled him to film remarkably long and spectacular sequences of shots, mobilising a large group of anonymous dancers inside sumptuous settings. 

Berkeley mistrusted editing and filmed the sequences with one camera. 

Able to rise into the air and move about, Berkeley’s solitary and mechanical eye took pleasure in overturning conventional perspective: vertical images became his signature shot, assuming a particular symbolic and dialectic role in his film-work. 

In addition, these vertical views display in all their splendour the ‘ornaments’ that Berkeley carefully produced.

from: Mark Dorrian. Seeing from Above (p. 167). Bloomsbury Publishing. Kindle Edition. 

 here’s a beginner’s guide to Busby Berkeley.