The War of Attrition was an armed conflict in which the Egyptian
army artillery constantly attacked the Israeli positions on the
eastern side of the Suez Canal, with Israel employing its air
force aircraft to protect its army units and carry out air
strikes against Egyptian army elements. It took place on both
sides of the Suez Canal and Sinai region, in the Middle East,
from 1967 to 1970. By pounding the Israeli positions in the
Sinai over a long period of time, the Egyptian government
attempted to sap Israeli determination to hang onto the
territorial conquest of the Six Day War (1967); however, Israeli
doggedness prevailed. Since the Israeli Defense Force did not
have enough long-range, big-caliber artillery pieces, it
resorted to their F-4 Phantom II, Mirage IIIC, and A-4 Skyhawk
fighter and attack aircraft to counterattack and destroy the
Egyptian artillery positions. To protect its army from the
Israeli air raids, the Egyptian government imported from the
Soviet Union surface-to-air missiles and radars.