In 1973 the Egyptian and Syrians launched a surprise attack against Israel. Israel had expected to be able to use its airforce to blunt any Arab attack. The widespread use of Sams by the Arabs however, took a tremendous toll on the Israeli air force. It lost 30 planes in the first day. Improving tactics however, soon allowed the airforce to regain some of its advantages and by the end of the war it had destroyed in the air and on the ground 460 Arab aircraft.
