The Defense of Israel
Photo above posted by the IDF on Facebook on April 12th, the day before the attack.
Text: Steve Baker
Boiling point
During the pre-dawn hours of April 13, Iran launched its first-ever direct attack on Israel. The attack was in response to a suspected Israeli strike on an Iranian consular building in Syria two weeks prior which killed two Iranian generals and five other officers. For those following current events, it is of little surprise that regional tensions between Israel and Iran reached a boiling point this spring in the aftermath of the October 7th, 2023 Hamas attack on Israel.
The Iranian regime undoubtedly felt significant internal and external political pressures to respond to the Israeli attack on the consulate. However, the Iranians had to walk the line between triggering a full-scale regional war with the need to show strength. In the two weeks between the consulate attack and the Iranian response, Iran communicated its intentions via the Turkish embassy and diplomatic dialogue was channeled thru Ankara back to Tehran. U.S. Officials warned Iran that any response needed to be “within certain limits” to avoid further escalation. Using this back-channel information, the United States quickly scrambled to coordinate a defensive response with Israel and regional allies to thwart the imminent Iranian aerial assault. Israeli air defenses were bolstered with the additional deployment of U.S Patriot SAM systems and U.S. Navy Destroyers in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. The destroyers USS Carney (DDG-64) and the USS Arleigh Burke (DDG-51) were on station and are AEGIS-equipped vessels, which are highly capable of shooting down ballistic missiles.
“Hellcat” 494th FS F-15E Tail Number AF96-201 returns to RAF Lakenheath with 9 red missiles markings symbolizing drone kills
494th FS F-15E Tail Number AF01-2002 refuels from a KC-135. The jet is configured with 6x AIM-120 and 2x AIM-9X missiles for the Defensive Counter Air mission.
The Iranians Attack
The Iranians launched Operation “True Promise” with a massive barrage of approximately 120 Emad intermediate-range ballistic missiles (IRBMs), 30 Paveh-type cruise missiles and 170 Shahed drones fired at Israel. As U.S. early detection capabilities picked up the launches, International civil aviation quickly ceased in the Gulf region as the airspace between Iran and Israel closed. GPS signals were subsequently jammed and degraded by western forces in an effort to minimize the navigational accuracy of the drones. The drones and missiles were launched to saturate Israeli defenses by having all of the weapons arrive within close time proximity. Iranian IRBMs take approximately 20 minutes to reach Israeli territory while cruise missiles and drones take 2 hour and up to 9 hours respectively. Targets in Israel were primarily located in the northern (Golan Heights) and southern (Negev Desert) ends of the country and away from the more densely populated areas of the country, undoubtedly a calculated move by Tehran.
An eco-atmospheric explosion after the successful interception of an Iranian IRBM by the Israeli Arrow 3 missile.
The terminal phase of a successful Iranian IRBM strike on a target in the Negev desert
Fighter Defense
The initial barrage got off to a rather dubious start. “U.S. intelligence estimates that half of the 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.
Targeting pod imagery from an Israeli Air Force jet tracking an Iranian cruise missile
Targeting pod imagery from an Israeli Air Force jet tracking an Iranian Shahed 136 drone
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 is a threat to populated areas or if it will land in an unpopulated area and makes a launch determination based on the projected trajectory. Iron Dome utilizes a smaller maneuverable interceptor missile called the Tamir. It is just 6 inches wide and 10 feet long with a proximity fused warhead.
Official Photos published by the Israeli Air Force showing IDF aircraft and Iron Dome in action during the attack.
A Stunning Success
After the last missiles impacted, Iran was quick to signal the operation concluded and they warned against any further retaliation. 99% of the projectiles were successfully intercepted by Israel and her allies, a stunning achievement and testament to their preparedness, technology, and training. There has never been a coordinated aerial and missile defense like it in the history of warfare. “It’s a win for the concept of integrated air and missile defense across the theater,” retired Marine Corps Gen. Kenneth F. McKenzie, the CENTCOM commander from 2019-2022, told Air & Space Forces Magazine. “People should draw strong conclusions from what just happened about the efficacy of that approach”.