According to the Jerusalem Post, Egyptian passenger jets are veering on a regular basis from their flight plan an over Israeli territory in the South. This is forcing the IAF to respond by sending its jets into a position where they can “intercept” if something goes wrong, or if it appears a jet is targeting a building or a hotel. This seems to me like a test of Israel’s response times and capabilities.

It turns out that the Saudis also have an F-15 squadron in a nearby base and they are scrambling their jets regularly as well. Interesting fact from the story, only 4 people in Israel have the authority to order the downing of a passenger jet, and they would likely have 3 or 4 minutes at most to make a decision if a plane is perceived to be hostile.

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themiddle

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