Israeli top guns train, eyes on Iran

RAMON AIR BASE, Israel, May 14 (Reuters) They are the Israeli air force's secretive elite, pilots and planes considered too precious to spare for most routine duties.

Instead, Israel's three F-16I fighter-bomber squadrons have been training for what officials call ''possible strategic scenarios'' -- code for a confrontation with arch-foe Iran.

Military analysts predict that, should Israel order air strikes on Iran in a bid to deny it the means to make nuclear weapons, the job will come down to the men, and one woman, flying these advanced US-supplied warplanes.

''We are ready, at any time of the day or night, for any mission that the government tells us to do. We can go as far as is needed,'' said Lieutenant-Colonel K, an F-16I squadron leader who spoke to Reuters on condition his full name not be used.

Israel generally avoids flaunting its long-range military capabilities, for fear of stoking regional tensions and distracting from Western scrutiny on Iran's nuclear programme, which Tehran says will generate electricity, not build bombs.

But last year's inconclusive Israeli war with Iranian-backed Hezbollah guerrillas in Lebanon has spurred calls in the Jewish state for more preparations and public displays of ''deterrence''.

''We are fighting for our privilege of living here in this country and we don't have any other choice. We have to be the best,'' said First-Lieutenant G, a 23-year-old F-16I pilot.

He said the squadrons have trained to the point that a variety of short- and long-range manoeuvres become ''instinct''.

Israel bought 102 F-16Is for 4.5 billion dollar, the biggest arms deal in its history. Most of the fleet has been delivered, boosting an Israeli arsenal that is widely assumed to include the Middle East's only atomic warheads.

''These pilots are the spearhead of the Israeli air force, which means they deal with the most sensitive assignments,'' said Alon Ben-David, Israel analyst for Jane's Defence Weekly.

Made by Texas-based manufacturer Lockheed-Martin, the F-16 has featured prominently in Israeli military operations. The first generation of the plane obtained by Israel was used to destroy Iraq's main atomic reactor Osiraq in a sneak 1981 raid.

But some analysts have cast doubt on whether the Israeli air force could pull off a similar mission against Iran, whose nuclear facilities are more numerous, distant and fortified.

Designers say the F-16I's trim, aerodynamic fuel tanks and sensors, allowing it to skirt the ground even at top speeds, would make it ideal for another pre-emptive strike in the Gulf. Israeli avionics would help it elude radars and ground fire.

The two-seater F-16I has a range of 1,600 km, putting most of Iran in reach.

This can be expanded by inflight refuelling from airborne tankers or by pumping fuel into the planes as they idle for takeoff, an unconventional technique Israel used for Osiraq and which K said was still practiced by his pilots.

''I can say that the (Israeli) F-16I model is the newest combat aircraft in the West Asia today, and the best,'' he said. ''These guys know that, when the time comes, the Israeli people will be relying on their abilities and professionalism.'' REUTERS GT SSC1308