2024-04-16 00:13:46
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said on Sunday that about 360 missiles and drones had been launched from Iran and that “99 percent threats” was intercepted in a successful defense mission that could have cost Israel about $937 million. euros, but saved many lives and tarnished Iran’s military image.
Iran’s plan appears to have been to try to defeat Israel’s air defense system with a sophisticated attack similar to the one Russia used against Ukraine, but on a much larger scale. It consisted of relatively slow-moving drones, faster cruise missiles and high-speed ballistic missiles capable of traveling several times the speed of sound.
Although there was advance notice of the attack, its scale was extremely large. Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said on Sunday that Iran notified neighboring countries of the attack 72 hours before it took place. Roughly three times the size of Russia’s full-scale offensive in Ukraine and involving more than 100 ballistic missiles, the attack posed a serious threat to any air defense system.
Iran’s chief of staff, General Mohammad Bagheri, said on Sunday that the operation was considered a success and that further attacks from his side were not necessary, but that while Tehran had learned of Israel’s air defenses, the apparent low number of strikes, especially missiles, was likely disappointing.
For comparison, in 2019 In September, Iran’s surprise drone and missile attack on two Saudi Arabian oil facilities in Abkajik and Khuraise temporarily cut off 5 percent of oil production. world oil supply. Estimates vary, but two to three dozen drones and missiles were used at the time.
“Look at the size and scope of this latest attack, it was not a helpful move. The attack was intended to cause real damage, but the fact that it did not is damaging to Iran’s credibility,” said Siddharth Kaushal of the Royal Joint Services Institute.
Overnight, international help was critical in destroying the slower-flying drones, with the US reporting that it had destroyed around 70 drones and three missiles. UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak added that the UK Air Force (RAF) had intercepted an unspecified number of targets. Other reports indicated that Jordan, a longtime US ally, shot down dozens more drones over its airspace.
S. Kaushal added that eliminating drones and cruise and ballistic missiles together would require careful planning. “It’s complicated in every way. The defenders were a multinational force that had to act to avoid a deeper conflict, facing a mix of weapons with different flight characteristics, from slower-flying drones to high-altitude ballistic missiles.”
The Israeli military said all 170 drones launched from Iran, likely belonging to the Shahed family, were shot down before they reached Israeli airspace. By themselves, the drones do not pose much of a threat, as they can only carry a modest bomb weighing up to 50 kg, but their purpose is to constrain the defenders.
Videos circulating on social media of the aircraft appearing hours before they were shot down gave responders plenty of time to react. The noisy engines suggested it was the slow-flying Shahed-136, which would take six hours to fly from Iran to Israel, although some Israeli media reported that Iran had launched the faster Shahed 238 jet, which travels three times as fast. and whose flight time coincided with the events of the night.
Although the involvement of countries other than the United States may have been relatively unexpected, there was ample time for planning. It has been 10 days since the US first warned of Tehran’s response, and the US and UK have since shifted military measures to the Middle East to prepare for a potential escalation.
On Friday, the United States said it had moved its capabilities to the region, but declined to provide further details, while the United Kingdom increased its Air Force (RAF) presence at the Akrotiri air base in Cyprus. By the end of the week, plans were in place and Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said on Sunday that he had confirmed the UK’s participation at an emergency Cobra meeting two days earlier.
Israel said Iran also fired 30 cruise missiles into its territory, and Israel Defense Forces jets intercepted 25 missiles “beyond the country’s borders,” according to military spokesman Daniel Hagari. These missiles are likely newly developed Paveh-351 missiles, designed to be maneuverable in flight, but still reach Iran within two hours.
The biggest threat came from high-speed ballistic missiles capable of traveling at several times the speed of sound and covering the distance from Iran to Israel (about 965 kilometers at the closest points) in less than 15 minutes. More than 120 such rockets were fired at Israel, Hagari said, and he acknowledged that “several” crossed Israeli airspace, with some hitting the Nevatim air base.
Dealing with them was largely the task of Israel’s air defense systems, which rely on missiles to hit incoming missiles. Shooting down ballistic missiles was primarily the job of the Arrow 2 and Arrow 3 air defense systems developed by Israel and the United States. True, these systems were not used until the beginning of the war between Israel and Hamas. The David’s Sling medium-range anti-aircraft defense system was also used.
Brigadier General Reem Aminoach, a former financial adviser to the Israel Defense Forces chief of staff, told Israel’s Ynet News that an Arrow missile typically costs about $3.3 million. euros, and the transferors David’s Sling – 940 thousand. euros. If you add up the costs of eliminating 100 ballistic missiles and the costs of the entire air defense campaign, he estimates that it amounts to between 1 billion dollars. up to 1.3 billion euros.
But the attack was also costly for Iran, as ballistic missiles typically cost up to $94,000. euros. According to US estimates, Tehran had about 3,000 of them, the largest arsenal in the Middle East.
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2024-04-16 00:13:46