Israel thwarted Iran missile attack but defense isn’t enough – Asia Times

Israel’s Iranian missile attack failed in all of its main goals. Amazingly, no Israelis were killed or injured – thanks to Israel’s heat threats and its extensive program of tents, plus aid from US Navy ships in the Mediterranean. &nbsp,

There are two problems away. &nbsp, The first is that Iran has lots of nuclear weapons. &nbsp, It launched 180 on October 1, compared with 120 next April. Iran’s goal is to overwhelm Israel’s atmosphere defenses, which it largely managed to do this period.

Iran will eventually be able to install nuclear weapons on its rockets, which is the next issue. &nbsp, This creates an philosophical problem for Israel.

No matter how effective they may be, Israel ca n’t reasonably rely solely on air defenses. &nbsp, It has to go after the army’s ability to muster thousands of nuclear weapons. This implies that one of Israel’s major security objectives is to bomb missile-making facilities and eliminate launch capabilities. &nbsp, Israel’s additional essential is to eliminate Iran’s nuclear weapons ability, something that former President Trump quickly grasped.

Despite the current circumstances, Israel was generally successful in preventing the most recent harm. &nbsp, One Israeli man was killed in Jericho on the West Bank, hit by element of a missile system from a shot-down jet. &nbsp, ( The Palestinian Authority does not have a legal defense program. Nor does Hamas in Gaza, aside from tunnels for its army. )

Iran made numerous statements and published&nbsp, false images to show how it defeated Israel. &nbsp, But yet Soviet mil-bloggers such as Rybar recognized Iran’s propaganda&nbsp, and denounced it. &nbsp, Rybar wrote:

In these]Iranian supplied ] images, many of the reported effect factors are really just normal trees and darkness visible yet on Google Maps. Given this, it can be assumed that most of the photographs published so far are no real up to date&nbsp, Maxar pictures, but instead black-and-white pictures from Google Maps.

When looking at the black-and-white pictures, there is indeed an idea of fire damage, but a look at the color pictures instantly puts everything in its place…. The media’s current attempt to discredit the negative effects of the hit looks ridiculous and undermines the significance of the Iranian attack: Israel has a reason to criticize the brains of the” Axis of Weight” and its knowledge by portraying shadows, branches, and dark-colored areas as impacts.

That day

Israel has an air defense system that is largely integrated and layered. &nbsp, It is linked to US air defenses and relies on an Israeli long-range radar, Green Pine ( EL/M 2080 ), and a US secret radar site in the Negev known as Site 512, operated by some 120 US personnel. According to published reports, Site 512 features a powerful long range X-band radar ( AN/TPY-2 ) which is also used to support the US&nbsp, THAAD terminal high altitude air defense system.

During Iran’s April 13 combined missile and drone strike on Israel, Israel and its cousin Jordan and the US Air Force ( perhaps even Saudi Arabia ) shot down&nbsp, all the robots and the 120 cruise weapons, largely using fighter aircraft.

In contrast, this time there were no robots or slow-flying boat weapons. There were only nuclear missiles&nbsp, fired from Iran plus Hezbollah’s short-range missiles fired from Lebanon. &nbsp, Iran launched 180 ballistic weapons, and there were around 100 or more Lebanon weapons in the northwest of Israel.

According to the US, two of its AEGIS warships, the USS Bulkeley ( DDG-84 ) and the USS Cole ( DDG-67 ), in the Mediterranean Sea, fired 12 interceptor missiles to support Israel. &nbsp, It is likely these were SM-3 1B interceptors that can hit incoming missiles outside of the earth’s atmosphere ( exo-atmospheric ). According to the Pentagon, US interceptors allegedly destroyed their target.

Iran launched a mix of medium-range ballistic missiles ( MRBMs), including Emad, a liquid-fueled missile, Ghadr-110 ( first stage liquid-fueled, second solid fuel ), Fatah 1 ( solid fuel ) and Khaybar Shekan ( solid fuel ). &nbsp, Liquid-fueled rockets take time to power, and the operation generally can be observed by spacecraft or other monitoring systems. &nbsp, Solid-fuel missiles are basically ready to go.

Iran claimed that its missiles, including its newest ones ( Fatah-1 and Khaybar Shekan ) are hypersonic and have maneuvering&nbsp, warheads, making it difficult for air defenses to defeat them. &nbsp, However, Israel’s Army ( IDF) reported that none of the missiles were actually hypersonic, nor did they have maneuvering warheads.

Israel’s structure

Israel’s air defense system consists of four major parts. &nbsp, These are

  • Iron Dome, designed for short-range coordinates,
  • David’s Strap for moderate range threats and ready against heavier missiles,
  • With the ability to eliminate ballistic missiles before entering Israel’s country, Arrow 2 and Arrow 3 have exo-atmospheric abilities.
  • C-dome, a version of Iron Dome running from&nbsp, Sa’ar 6-class ships at ocean, the first of which became operating in 2023.

Bow 2 has the following advanced capabilities:

  • high and low altitudes intrusion abilities,
  • fast motion,
  • effective and unique separation weapon,
  • huge defended area,
  • higher mortality when used with all different military projectile missiles and weapons,
  • high maneuverability when using thrust vector control ( TVC ) and advanced aerodynamics,
  • state-of-the-art end-game cameras,
  • developed transportation, guidance and command,
  • two good propulsion stages: boost and preserver, and
  • total very little time to react.

Bow 3 transcends Arrow 2, and it goes beyond Arrow 2. &nbsp, It has a much greater maneuvering capability&nbsp, ( its kill vehicle can switch directions dramatically, allowing it to pivot to see approaching satellites ) &nbsp, and greater range than Arrow 2. &nbsp, Unlike Bow 2, Bow 3 uses “hit to remove” technology, meaning that its weapon smashes into the risk and destroys it kinetically. Arrow 2 uses a blast fragmentation warhead, which is less accurate ( four meters, but sufficient to completely eliminate an incoming threat ). &nbsp,

Arrow 3 likewise is fast. &nbsp, Bow 3 can be used as an anti-satellite tool – of crucial significance as the Middle East bends into a potential nuclear confrontation. &nbsp, Dart 3 may be silo-launched, making it more safe in a nuclear situation.

In 2019, Arrow 3 weapons were tested in Kodiak, Alaska. &nbsp, The Israeli Ballistic Missile Organization and the US Missile Defense Agency cooperated in arranging this test to see if the Arrow 3 performed effectively in the exo-atmosphere ( and if it did better than the interceptors&nbsp, of the US Ground-Based Midcourse&nbsp, Defense System ). &nbsp, Arrow 3 destroyed all its target in the exam.

Bow 2 and Arrow 3 were Israel’s main security systems in April and October against Iranian IRBMs, in addition to the two AEGIS warships.

Bow was supported by Israel’s David’s Rope, which pursued missiles that passed through the main defense net. &nbsp, David’s Rope does not work in the exo-atmosphere, like Arrow, but it is designed to take down military nuclear weapons. This system was designed to remove the outdated Patriot US-origin air defense systems from the ancient HAWK and.

Arrow is a joint Israeli ( Rafael ) and US (RTX ) air defense capability. &nbsp, Its fighter is described&nbsp, as” a&nbsp, solid-fuel jet motor&nbsp, boost, followed by an asymmetrical&nbsp, remove vehicle&nbsp, with superior steering for super-maneuverability during the shoot level. The program can tell the difference between genuine warheads and decoys, thanks to a three-pulse machine, which increases acceleration and agility during the final phase.

Some of the available picture taken in Israel shows low-altitude coordinates. &nbsp, These are facts of David’s Saddle or Patriot.

Other than defending Hezbollah missiles in the northeast, the Israeli Iron Dome system is unknown to have played. Its Tamir fighter is comparatively small, which makes it less effective for heavier weapon challenges.

Israel’s atmosphere defense complex has been made to capture missiles that are less likely to strike a major target than those that attempt to destroy a proper target or population center. Perhaps, Israel lacks sufficient interceptors to thwart all incoming threats.

The limits

The main concern was not usefulness but absorption.

There is currently no difficult statistical data on either David’s Sling or either of the two Bow systems ‘ performance. It is true that two atmosphere outposts were hit, but neither one of them was stopped, and Israel claims that no aircraft were either damaged or destroyed. A large number of attempted cuts were carried out against these in an effort to overthrow Israel’s air defense systems. &nbsp, &nbsp,

Israel’s heat defenses are probably among the best in the world, but it cannot count only on air defenses to defend the country. &nbsp, It must go after the enemy’s build websites and missile developing skills and Iran’s nuclear weapons assets. &nbsp, There is no alternative as Israel faces a nation, Iran, that seeks its annihilation.

A totally passive defense is, at the end of the day, insufficient – and miracles, even in Israel, are subject to rationing.

Stephen Bryen served as the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee’s staff director and as its deputy undersecretary of defense for policy.