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The barrage of more than 300 armed drones and long-range missiles that Iran fired at Israel Saturday night was met with an unprecedented defensive response.
Ninety-nine percent of the projectiles were intercepted, according to the Israeli military, and only a handful of ballistic missiles landed on Israeli territory. The attacks caused minimal damage to an air base in the south of the country, although one child was seriously injured, probably by falling shrapnel.
“The Iranian attack, as planned, was foiled,” Daniel Hagari, chief spokesman of the Israeli army, said in the early hours of Sunday.
Iran launched its attack in retaliation for a suspected Israeli strike in Damascus earlier this month that killed several Iranian commanders, the first time it had directly targeted the Jewish state.
The fact that Israel was able to intercept the attack and avoid any loss of life is a testament to its “multi-layered” missile defense system that includes Israel’s vaunted air defense network. The Arrow element of the device, intended to physically intercept long-range projectiles, was successfully deployed during the Iranian attack, according to Israeli military officials.
Israel has also been aided by international partners, including the United States, the United Kingdom and France, as well as Middle Eastern allies who have not yet been publicly named. Two American aircraft and two destroyers took part in intercepting the barrage, while Royal Air Force jets were also dispatched.
Hagari called the response to the Iranian attack “one of the most unique air defense battles” in the history of military warfare, referring to the large number of combat aircraft and missile interceptors deployed to stop an attack that took place over several hours.
The defensive effort began with an early radar warning from forward bases near Iran operated by the U.S. military’s Central Command. These detected the initial swarm of unmanned aerial vehicles, then later ballistic and cruise missiles fired from Iran, Iraq and Yemen.
Israel officially joined the US-led regional military command in 2021, following the Abraham Accords treaties signed with several Arab states. Since then, the IDF has participated in annual war exercises, emphasizing air defense, as part of a growing network called the Middle East Air Defense Alliance.
After receiving these warnings, Western warplanes and air defenses were deployed to intercept the wave of Iranian missiles and drones heading toward Israel over several Middle Eastern countries. Israeli F-35 stealth fighters already in the air moved away from the Jewish state’s borders to intercept the bulk of the incoming projectiles.
None of the 170 armed drones launched by Iran penetrated Israeli airspace, according to Israeli military data. The Israeli military also said that 25 of 30 cruise missiles headed its way were shot down by Israeli planes outside the country’s borders.
Missiles and drones that made it through the initial interception phase faced widespread and deliberate jamming of the GPS signal, not only over Israel but also neighboring states.
In addition to Arrow, Israel’s air defense network also includes the Iron Dome and David’s Sling systems, intended to physically intercept short- and medium-range projectiles, respectively. But it was the Arrow that almost certainly succeeded in neutralizing most of the 120 ballistic missiles fired by Tehran.
Arrow’s interceptors are intended to match and then intercept the high-altitude trajectory of ballistic missiles, striking them in close proximity to spaceflight. This likely explains the widespread alerts that were sounded in southern, northern and central Israel, including Jerusalem, as well as the illumination of the night sky with countless shrill lights from Arrow interceptor missiles.
Among the “small number” of heavy projectiles that entered Israeli airspace, some hit Nevatim Air Base in the southern Negev Desert, which remained fully operational.
But for Israeli officials, it was proof that, as one of them put it, “a strong defense coalition has shown it can stand up to Iran and create a deterrent.” “.
Hagari noted that such a large number of ballistic missiles fired in a short period of time was unprecedented in the annals of war, with Israel viewing it as “an escalating factor” in the long history of conflict between the two countries.
Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, had pledged to retaliate directly against Iran if it attacked. Most Israeli analysts now believe that such a response is only a matter of time.
Yaakov Lappin, an Israel-based defense analyst, said the attack was a “resounding strategic failure for Iran” and a “collapse of a central tenet of its policy.” [its] power projection – its arsenals of conventional missiles and drones.”
“Iran must now await retaliation from Israel, but unlike Israel, Iran’s air defenses are comparatively limited. . . . a response against Iranian soil seems to be a certainty.”
