The planners identified a range of threats that they were particularly concerned about, most notably the Ugandan Air Force. Given these potential threats, it was deemed necessary to remove any air support before it could disrupt the operation once called. It was assessed that up to 7000 people would need to be evacuated under ZEUS, all embarking at Entebbe on RAF aircraft. Offensive air support would be essential to neutralise the Ugandan Air Force and to support land operations. It also removed HMS ARK ROYAL from the planning, relying instead on RAF air support.