23 November 1999 - What we thought was rapprochement with Syria turned out to be a masquerade. Yesterday morning Syrian forces attacked our positions on Mount Hebron and have made limited gains. Before we counter-attack it is vital to gain air superiority. The mission today is an attack on the Tafas Surface-to-Air Missile site - if successful it will give our aircraft considerably greater freedom of movement in the battlespace.

The mission involves three flights. First over the border is our flight, Charlie: F-15s tasked with knocking down any enemy fighters within striking distance of the target. We are armed with Amraams and Python-4s, as well as carrying two fuel tanks and a centreline ECM pod.

Next over will be the F4-2000s of Alpha flight - tasked with clearing a corridor between the border and the target free of ground-based anti-aircraft weapons and with attacking active launchers at the target.

Last but not least - Bravo Flight's F-16s carrying HARM missiles and 2000lb bombs. They will attack the target itself.

We approached the Syrian border at 20000 feet and ground control notified us of contacts to our front. There was no need. Even though they were far below us the F-15's powerful radar was feeding us information from 35 miles away. I was tracking the leader of a pair of jets to our direct front and was maintaining radar awareness of another flight to our two o'clock.

I ordered my wingman to kickout and switched to the Amraam medium range missile. The HUD targeting symbology showed that the bandit had turned away and was fleeing back into Syria. We crossed the border and watched as the bandit's heading gradually swung back towards us. We could not discount the possibility that we were being lured over a SAM site, so I lit up the ECM and ordered Charlie 2 to engage.

My Amraam left the rails and streaked downhill. At the same time I got a launch warning from the Defensive Countermeasures suite; the Mig-29 had fired on me. I wasn't overly concerned - with a 15000 ft height advantage my missile would get there first.

We made a lazy turn to starboard to ensure that the bandit's missiles wouldn't hit us even once he was down. Suddenly the sky to our front erupted in two explosions - both our missiles had struck the two Migs at the same instant. Debris plummeted from the smoke, while the missile fired up towards us exploded harmlessly to our rear. But already we were searching for the second flight.

They were low and not engaging, but they were over the target site so had to be brought down. We closed the range, Charlie 2 taking up position at my 4 o'clock. Looking down through the eyepiece of the DASH helmet I acquired the targets and put my aircraft into a shallow dive to intercept. The Migs started to turn and climb towards us, but were no match for the superb Python-4 missiles. Technology has replaced the need to be the better pilot.

Charlie Flight and ground control confirmed that the target area was now free of bandits. This was a relief - the F4 is not wonderfully manoeuverable at the best of times and 3 2000lb bombs and a couple of HARMS didn't make things any better.

We were passing the southern end of the Sea of Galilee when we got the call. We picked up the first radar spikes on the RWR shortly afterwards. We deliberately carried no jammer so that we would be spiked from maximum range, enabling us to fire the HARM and then evade.

Over the border, and we were getting several Gundish spikes - this was bad news as it meant that deadly Soviet ZSU-23-4 systems were deployed to our front. Ground Control came on the net and advised us to head up the deep ravines towards the target. This we were quite happy to do - down there we would be invisible to all ground level radar. I ordered Alpha 2 to close up and we rolled into the entrance of the valley.

 A few twists and turns later and we found ourselves at the end of  a canyon with a vertical wall facing us. I pulled swiftly back on the joystick and we raced into the open sky in a twenty degree climb,  slowing down. We obviously weren't the first to have tried it. Hidden just behind the lip of the valley was a ZSU-23-4 which opened up as we went past. I got clear but Alpha 2 reported that he was hit. I glanced back over my shoulder and saw him trailing thick black smoke.

The enemy's tactics were working too well: three kilometres behind the ZSU-23-4 was a short-range IR missile system, the Strela-10M3. Even though it was IR guided, the vehicle has an acquisition radar and it was this I picked up on the RWR. I swung towards it and my HARM MFD showed I was locked on. I fired the HARM and rolled wings vertical before pulling away to the right. Too late - the Strela had fired.

I dived for the ground, spouting flares to confuse the missile and chaff to confuse the targeting radar. The HARM impacted the target, sending up a cloud of debris and dust. I was at low level now, racing towards the target waypoint. I armed the Mk 84s and as the cluster of vehicles, radar and SAMs appeared in the distance I eased gently back to give myself sufficient height clearance to drop the bombs.

My wingman was nowhere to be seen - either he had succumbed to the effects of the AA fire or he had caught the IR missile. No time to worry about that right now. I pressed and held the pickle button but ... nothing. I was over the target and hadn't dropped. I dived again, getting a few kilometres turning space, then pulled round into a tight turn, running back in at 2000 feet. This time it worked, two of the heavy bombs dropping in the middle of the cluster. The SAM radar site went offline, so that was Mission Accomplished for me.

Now the SAMs were no longer a danger I headed back to the border at medium altitude - the last thing I wanted was for some cunningly placed AA gun to get me at this stage. But I almost didn't make it anyway; I landed with just fumes in the tank, a very close call indeed.