Historical Dictionary of Israeli Intelligence

RIKA, ELIAHU (1930– ).Born in Damascus, Rika immigrated to

Palestine in 1944 and volunteered to serve in the Arab Platoon of the

Palmah militia underground. After the establishment of the State of Is-

rael, Rika joined the Israeli Navy as an intelligence officer. From 1950

to 1964 he served in the Mossad in risky missions to Arab countries.

RONEL, EPHRAIM.See MISGERET.

ROOSTER OPERATION.The War of Attritionraged along the

Suez Canal from the end of the Six-Day Warin June 1967 until a

cease-fire agreement in August 1970. The Egyptian military effort

was supported by Soviet shipments of military materiel, which was

of great interest to Military Intelligence(MI). The Israel Defense

Forces (IDF) had used equipment captured during the Six-Day War

for a better understanding of weapons specifications and capabilities.

During the War of Attrition, newer radar equipment that was sup-

plied by the Soviet Union to Egypt posed a new kind of threat to the

Israel Air Force (IAF). In an effort to learn how to deal with this new

threat, IAF reconnaissance missions were quickly launched to photo-

graph the new Egyptian air defense system. They revealed that the

new Soviet radar was deployed on the beach of Ras al-Arab on Green

Island. The immediate reaction was to destroy the new radar station

with an aerial strike, but the attacking aircraft were stopped shortly

before takeoff when the idea arose of capturing the entire installa-

tion—plucking it from its base and bringing it intact back to Israel.

Nicknamed “Rooster-53,” the operation was planned in just a few

days, beginning on 24 December 1969. With the approval of the IDF

chain of command, the operation’s details and mechanics were soon

ironed out, and the forces involved began their training by lifting

radar installations captured during the Six-Day War. The helicopters

selected to carry the radar station to Israeli territory were of the new

Sikorsky CH-53 Yasur design, which had arrived in Israel only

shortly before. These were the only helicopters deemed capable of

carrying the entire radar station, estimated to weigh seven tons.

The operation was launched at 9:00 P.M. on 26 December 1969.

A-4 Skyhawks and F-4 Phantoms began attacking Egyptian forces

along the west bank of the Suez Canal and Red Sea. Muffled by the

noise of the attacking jets, three Aérospatiale Super Frélons, carrying

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