On 7th June 1981 a group of F-16 fighter-bombers from the Israeli Air Force bombed the newly completed French-built Iraqi nuclear reactor at Tuwaitha, south-east of Baghdad. The F-16s dived in low and dropped 2000lb iron bombs and 900lb HE bombs on the main reactor building destroying the reactor, yet leaving only one casualty. Up above six F-15 fighters flew "top cover" while on the border of Iraq CH-53 Air Rescue helicopters were ready to retrieve any pilots who were shot down. The Iraqi air defences around the reactor were formidable with SA-6 (Gainful), SA-2 and SA-3 anti-aircraft missiles and ZSU-57-2 and ZSU-23-4 radar guided anti-aircraft guns and MIG-21 and MIG-23MF fighter interceptors based at a nearby airfield. What was more remarkable was that the Israeli strike team had to fly over several Arab countries to reach Iraq and fly within range of Saudi and US AWACs planes which were fully capable of spotting them hundreds of miles to the north. Fully updated with new, formerly classified information, this work includes new photographs taken during the mission and from US spy satellites showing the damage to the reactor.
For the first time the names of the pilots are revealed, one of them was Israel's first astronaut who was sadly killed in the Space Shuttle crash in February 2003. Media opinion, which was very hostile back in 1982, has over time come round to the idea that this was correct and timely action by Israel.