Rimon 20 (Hebrew: רימון 20, Pomegranate 20) was the code name of an aerial battle in 1970 which pitted the Israeli Air Force directly against Soviet fighter pilots stationed in Egypt during the War of Attrition.

Israel planned the dogfight in order to send a message that it would no longer tolerate direct Soviet military involvement in its conflict with Egypt.

In the afternoon of July 30, 1970, four Israeli Mirage IIIs crossed into Egyptian airspace, flying in tight formation so as to appear as a single aircraft.

[6][7] The Soviets and Egyptians, however, now began rolling their combined air defence array towards the canal zone, threatening to deprive Israel of its aerial superiority.

For the first time, Israel's hard-won aerial supremacy was under serious threat, not only on the west bank of the Suez Canal, but over Israeli-controlled territory as well.

The opportunity to punish the Soviets would also serve to boost flagging morale following the loss of several aircraft and airmen in the previous few months,[4] and would also prove valuable in upcoming ceasefire negotiations.

[10][11] IAF Commander Mordechai (Motti) Hod, backed by IDF Chief of the General Staff Haim Bar-Lev, took his case to the Israeli cabinet on July 25.

[10][14] "Rimon 20" was to begin with an attack by IAF 69 Squadron F-4E Phantom IIs on an Egyptian radar station southeast of the city of Suez.

These were to be carried out in an attack profile usually adopted by IAF Skyhawks, giving the impression of yet another day of battle on the Suez Canal front.

Amos Amir, commanding 119 Squadron and a 5-kills ace at the time, selected Asher Snir (11 kills), Avraham Salmon (6) and Avi Gilad (2) to accompany him.

Uri Even-Nir, commanding 117 Squadron and already credited with 3 kills, was to be accompanied by Itamar Neuner (4), Yehuda Koren (7) and Kobi Richter (7).

The 69 Squadron Phantoms was led by Avihu Bin-Nun, who had shot down 2 aircraft as a Mirage pilot, with navigator Shaul Levi.

Also present were Aviem Sella (1) with Reuven Reshef, Ehud Hankin (3, navigator unknown) and Uri Gil (1) with Israel Parnas.

[16] Thursday, July 30, 1970, began as yet another day in the ongoing War of Attrition with the IAF striking Egyptian positions along the Suez Canal.

[17] It began at 14:00 (Israel time, 15:00 in Egypt) with Bin-Nun, Sela, Hankin and Gil striking the Egyptian radar post at Sokhna.

[5] Meanwhile, Amos Amir's four 119 Squadron Mirages were crossing the Gulf of Suez at low altitude, entering Egyptian airspace before turning north and ascending to 35,000 feet (11,000 m).

Flying in tight formation to appear as a single or double target on a routine reconnaissance flight, the four Mirages were each armed with a pair of AIM-9D Sidewinders.

Two Soviet quartets were vectored to intercept the intruding "reconnaissance" flight, while another two were directed at what were thought to be Skyhawks on a ground attack mission.

[18][19] As the first MiGs were 20 km out and approaching from the west, Amos Amir led his four aircraft in a 270° climbing turn that brought them on a westerly heading.

[20] The Israelis were not only skillful, but lucky as well: one Russian pilot managed to get on the tail of a Phantom and hit it with an AA-2 Atoll heat-seeking missile, but it failed to explode.

Aviem Sella witnessed the downing:[5] One of the Mirages (flown by Asher Snir) fired an air-to-air missile seconds after the battle began.

Captain Vladimir Ivlev fired an AA-2 Atoll at the Mirage, which exploded in the exhaust of the Atar engine, shredding the nozzle and tail of Snir's aircraft.

The four 117 Squadron Mirages which had been lurking at low altitude over the Sinai, beyond the reach of Egyptian and Soviet radar, were pulling up and proceeding westward when Itamar Neuner's jet suffered an engine malfunction and had to abort the mission.

The Phantoms crews, meanwhile, were finding out that flying in pairs was indeed safer, yet not as conducive towards scoring aerial kills since it limited individual pilot freedom of action.

[27] The missile had been launched by Avihu Bin-Nun and Shaul Levi:[4] Suddenly we found ourselves, me and my number 2, along with a lone 117 Squadron jet, pursuing a MiG flying at low level and almost at the speed of sound.

Salmon continued to give chase to the vicinity of Helwan, where he managed to close the distance to the MiG and emptied his cannon into the aircraft.

While the Mirages headed to Rephidim to refuel prior to their return to their home bases in Israel proper, the 69 Squadron Phantoms made their way directly to Ramat David.