How Israel’s air defences withstood Iran’s missile barrage

On Tuesday night, Israel's air defense systems successfully intercepted the majority of the approximately 180 missiles launched by Iran. This operation was carried out in close collaboration with US naval destroyers stationed in the area.

The Israeli military was in the process of evaluating the impact of the assault that started at 7:31 PM local time. Initial reports suggested that there were no injuries, even though several strikes occurred.

If this situation persists, it will serve as an impressive demonstration of the country's air defense systems and the effectiveness of the US military—particularly since Tehran launched the attack unexpectedly.

"This assault was unsuccessful. It was stopped due to Israel's air defense system, which is the most sophisticated globally," remarked Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Iran's Revolutionary Guards announced that they fired numerous ballistic missiles in response to the recent killings of Hizbollah’s leader Hassan Nasrallah and a high-ranking Guards officer in Beirut. They stated that this attack was also motivated by a suspected Israeli strike in July that resulted in the death of Hamas’s political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran.

In a report, the Guards asserted that 90% of the missiles they fired successfully struck their intended targets, primarily military sites located in or near Tel Aviv. Footage appeared to show that one missile might have detonated at or near the headquarters of Mossad, Israel's intelligence agency.

An Israeli security official reported that the Israeli Air Force, in collaboration with AFCENT—the air force branch of US Central Command that oversees military operations in the Middle East—successfully intercepted the majority of the 180 missiles launched by Iran.

"The official stated that the IAF worked closely with AFCENT, successfully intercepting the majority of the missiles. Some hits have been confirmed, and experts are currently evaluating the extent of the damage."

There were notable distinctions between Iran's most recent missile strike and the initial wave of missiles launched at Israel back in April.

In that previous assault, Iran launched approximately 170 drones, 30 cruise missiles, and over 120 ballistic missiles. The Israeli military reported that 99 percent of these threats were intercepted, resulting in just a few ballistic missiles actually striking within the country, causing very little damage.

The impressive interception rate can be attributed to the collaborative work of the United States and its allies, the monitoring of missile trajectories by American partners in the area, and Israel's advanced air defense systems.

Importantly, Tehran signaled the upcoming attack well ahead of time.

In sharp contrast, this assault was unexpected, as both the Pentagon and Iranian representatives at the UN in New York stated that Tehran did not alert the US or Israel in advance.

Iran's recent strike appeared to rely mainly on ballistic missiles, rather than a large-scale assault involving both drones and missiles aimed at saturating air defense systems, similar to the tactics Russia has employed in its conflict with Ukraine.

Fabian Hinz, a research associate at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, suggested that Iran might have purposely left out drones from their operations to reduce the time for Israeli defenses to detect and respond.

"The slower drone aircraft take hours to get to their destinations, giving opponents more time to prepare, unlike ballistic missiles that strike in just a few minutes," he stated.

Additionally, Hinz suggested that Iran may have launched its "hypersonic" Fattah-1 missile for the first time during this attack, along with its sophisticated Kheybar Shekan solid-fuel missile.

Ballistic missiles ascend to the edge of space before descending to the ground at incredible speeds, making them more challenging to intercept compared to cruise missiles. Unlike ballistic missiles, cruise missiles travel at lower heights and are powered by rockets.

According to Major General Pat Ryder, a spokesperson for the Pentagon, two US Navy destroyers, the USS Bulkeley and the USS Cole, launched around twelve interceptor missiles to protect Israel during the recent assault.

John Healey, the UK’s defense secretary, mentioned that British troops have contributed to efforts aimed at stopping further escalation in the Middle East. This vague remark hints that RAF fighter jets may have intercepted some Iranian missiles, similar to what occurred in April.

Nevertheless, the remaining missiles would likely have been shot down by Israel's multi-tiered air defense system.

In the past year, it has faced advanced Iranian technology, including precision long-range ballistic missiles. On the flip side, there are also unguided and short-range rockets employed by militant organizations like Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

Israeli military spokesperson Daniel Hagari has frequently warned that, although the air defense system is seen as one of the best in the world, it is not completely foolproof.

Israel's defense system features an outer layer known as Arrow 2 and 3, which is specially built to protect against long-range ballistic missiles by intercepting them beyond the atmosphere.

Arrow was utilized for the first time in the ongoing conflict, effectively intercepting incoming ballistic missiles launched by the Iran-aligned Houthis. Additionally, it played a crucial role in preventing an attack from Iran in April.

Israel's secondary defense system is called David’s Sling. Its purpose is to intercept and destroy larger rockets and tactical ballistic missiles, like Scuds, that have a range of 100 to 300 kilometers.

The system, which was launched in 2017, has only been actively used in the last year. Its Stunner interceptor missiles have successfully hit multiple projectiles launched from Gaza and are said to have intercepted a missile from Hizbollah that was aimed at Tel Aviv last week.

The main component of Israel’s air defense system is the Iron Dome. Created with financial and technical support from the US military, it was rolled out in 2011 and has successfully shot down thousands of short-range rockets launched by Hamas and other militant groups in Gaza.

In the 2021 conflict in Gaza, the Israel Defense Forces reported that they successfully intercepted 90 percent of the projectiles launched by Hamas and other groups towards populated regions in Israel.

Experts suggest that the Iron Dome's impressive effectiveness can be attributed mainly to its advanced radar system, which is enhanced by extra artificial intelligence features.

This technology allows it to quickly identify which incoming rockets, within approximately a 70km radius, will probably fall safely in unpopulated areas and which ones might pose a threat to people or military personnel.

This also enables the Israeli Defense Forces to save their limited stock of advanced Tamar interceptors, which are priced in the tens of thousands of dollars for each missile.

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A maritime adaptation of the Iron Dome, commonly known as C-Dome, is installed on Israeli navy corvettes. This system has effectively intercepted attack drones targeting Israeli interests in the Red Sea from the Iran-supported Houthi fighters and has also engaged drones directed at gas platforms in the Mediterranean by Hizbollah.

According to Yaakov Lappin, an expert on military matters in Israel, the system operates on the principle that each layer supports and reinforces the others.

On Tuesday night, we witnessed a demonstration of some of those layers as video captured the skies over Tel Aviv. It showed interceptors shooting upwards, successfully targeting and taking down several incoming Iranian missiles.