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weapons fired by Iran failed upon launch or in
flight due to technical issues,” a U.S. Air Force
senior officer stated. This still left approximately
160 weapons in flight towards Israel. Nearly all
of the slower, and more vulnerable, Shaheed
drones were systematically intercepted and
destroyed by American, Israeli, British, French
and Jordanian fighter aircraft. The U.S. Air Force
had two F-15E squadrons in theater as well as
an F-16 unit. According to U.S. Officials, they
destroyed more than 80 Iranian drones and
cruise missiles over Syria, long before they
reached Israeli territory. U.S. President Joe
Biden called the commanders of the two F-15E
units, the 335th Fighter Squadron (Chiefs) and
494th Fighter Squadron (Panthers) to commend
them for a job well done. 494th FS aircraft
returning to RAF Lakenheath during the middle
of May sported multiple missile markings
alongside other nose art.
In addition to the U.S. Air Force, the Royal Air
Force also scrambled four Typhoon FGR.4 aircraft
from RAF Akrotiri in Cypress. The Typhoons
deployed over the Iraq-Syria border and shot
down between 10 and 20 Shaheed drones. Like
the F-15E, each Typhoon can carry a maximum
load of 8 air-to-air missiles. French and
Jordanian fighter aircraft launched from Jordan
to intercept drones and cruise missiles flying
thru northern and central Jordanian airspace.
According to French President Emmanuel Macron,
the French launched their Rafale fighters
stationed at the H5 airbase “at Jordan’s request”.
Reports suggest the combined effort in Jordan
downed several dozen more drones. Although
there were initial rumors that Princess Salma of
Jordan may have participated in the intercepts,
that rumor has been debunked. Finally, Israeli
F-15 and F-35 aircraft also intercepted Iranian
weapons, with IDF spokesperson Adm. Daniel
Hagari stating approximately 25 cruise missiles
“were intercepted by IAF fighter jets outside the
country’s borders”. Most likely, these intercepts
took place over Jordanian territory.
Missile Defense
The IRBMs launched from Iran were
intercepted by a variety of systems. A U.S. Army
Patriot Missile battery in Erbil, Iraq shot down at
least one missile. The previously mentioned U.S.
Navy AEGIS destroyers accounted for at least
four and possibly six more ballistic missiles.
Of note, it is likely the destroyers employed
the advanced SM-3 interceptor missile in
combat for the first time. However, most of the
ballistic missile intercepts were reportedly
carried out by Israel. Israel employs the locally
developed Arrow Weapon System which is the
world’s first standalone anti-tactical ballistic
missile battery. The Arrow is the outermost
shield of Israel’s missile defense. It shoots the
Arrow 3 missile , which is a hypersonic anti-
ballistic missile that intercepts outside the
atmosphere and can maneuver in space. Video
footage captured a series of exo-atmospheric
detonations suggesting the Arrow 3 was widely
employed. The Arrow 3 had “proved itself
against a significant number of ballistic missiles”
according to IDF spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel
Hagari. Despite this impressive effort, the IDF
reported 5 Iranian ballistic missiles impacted
Nevatim Airbase in the Negev Desert and
4 missiles hit another unnamed base. Although
no lives were lost and damage was reported as
minimal, a young Israeli girl was injured from
falling ballistic missile debris.
Iran’s proxy groups in the region, namely
Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Houthi rebels
in Yemen, added their own volley of rockets
and drones to the attack. These attacks were
largely thwarted by Israel’s David Sling and
Iron Dome systems. David’s Sling is the medium
layer in the defensive missile shield. It uses the
Stunner and SkyCepter kinetic hit-to-kill missile
which is effective against short range ballistic
missiles such as those fired from Yemen. The
Iron Dome system is designed for shorter range
threats. Israel has 10 Iron Dome point defense
batteries to provide protection from rocket
attacks. Each battery can defend 60 square
miles. The system predicts if an inbound rocket
494th FS F-15E Tail Number AF01-2002 refuels
rom a KC-135. The jet is configured with 6x AIM-120
and 2x AIM-9X missiles for the Defensive Counter
Air mission.
An eco-atmospheric explosion after the successful
interception of an Iranian IRBM by the Israeli Arrow 3
missile.
Targeting pod imagery from an Israeli Air Force jet
tracking an Iranian cruise missile
The terminal phase of a successful Iranian IRBM strike
on a target in the Negev desert
Targeting pod imagery from an Israeli Air Force jet
tracking an Iranian Shahed 136 drone
Official Photos published by the Israeli Air Force
showing IDF aircraft and Iron Dome in action during
the attack.
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