Jordan has opened two corridors of its airspace to Israeli Air Force UAS seeking to monitor the ongoing conflict in Syria, French daily Le Figaro reported on Sunday, citing a Western military source in the Middle East.
According to the report, Jordanian King Abdullah made the decision in March during US President Barack Obama’s visit to Jordan, which came immediately after his first trip as president to Israel.
Le Figaro quoted the military source as saying that the Israeli UAS fly at night to avoid detection. The source added that “the Syrians have Russian air defence assets, but Israeli aircraft are difficult to detect and therefore virtually immune to anti-aircraft measures.”
According to the source, the unmanned aircraft are carrying out surveillance, but “they are also armed and therefore can hit targets anywhere in Syria.”
The Jordanian air corridors allow Israel to avoid accessing Syrian airspace through southern Lebanon, which it fears could draw a response from Hezbollah, Le Figaro added.
Source: The Jerusalem Post