How Iran’s attack on Israel was stopped
Category: News & Politics
Via: krishna • 2 weeks ago • 18 commentsBy: Dan Sabbagh Defence and security editor
Related article: What are Israel's Iron Dome and Arrow missile defences?
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
(Photo credit: Youtube Future Technology of Military Channel )
Iran’s widely anticipated missile and drone attack was defeated with the orchestrated help of the US, UK and Jordan who, alongside the Israeli military, ensured that all but a handful of ballistic missiles were neutralised overnight.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said on Sunday that about 360 missiles and drones were fired from Iran and that “99% of the threats” had been intercepted in a successful defence mission that may have cost Israel £800m – but will have saved many lives and dented Iran’s military credibility.
Iran’s plan appears to have been to try to overwhelm Israel’s system of air defences with a complex attack of the type employed by Russia against Ukraine, but on a much vaster scale. It comprised relatively slow-moving drones, faster cruise missiles and high-speed ballistic missiles capable of travelling several times quicker than the speed of sound.
Though the attack was well telegraphed, with Iran’s foreign minister, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, saying on Sunday it had given neighbouring countries 72 hours notice, its size was notable. Roughly three times a large-scale Russian assault in Ukraine and comprising over 100 ballistic missiles, the assault was a serious threat to any air defence system.
Iran’s chief of general staff, Gen Mohammad Bagheri, said on Sunday that the operation was considered a success and further attacks on its part were not necessary. – but while Tehran will have learned about Israel’s air defences, the apparently low impact rate, particularly from the missiles, is likely to be a disappointment.
“Look at the size and scale of this latest attack – this was not a salutary move. It was designed to inflict real damage, but the fact that it didn’t is damaging to Iran’s credibility,” said Sidharth Kaushal of the Royal United Services Institute thinktank.
Overnight, international help was critical in eliminating the slower-moving drones: the US said it had knocked out about 70 drones and three missiles. The UK prime minister, Rishi Sunak , added that the RAF had intercepted an unspecified number. Other reports indicated Jordan, a longstanding US ally, had shot down dozens more drones over its airspace.
Working together to eliminate drones and cruise and ballistic missiles would have required careful planning, Kaushal added. “This is complex in every way. The defenders were a multinational force, having to operate in a deconflicted way, facing a mixture of weapons with different flight characteristics, from slower-moving drones to high-altitude ballistic missiles.”
Videos of the craft, circulated on social media hours before being shot down, gave those responding plenty of time to react. The noisy engines suggested they were the slow-flying Shahed-136 , which would take six hours to fly from Iran to Israel, although some Israeli media reported Iran had launched the faster jet-engined Shahed 238, which travel three times more quickly and whose flight time matched the events overnight.
Though the participation of countries other than the US may have been a surprise overnight, there was plenty of time to plan. It is 10 days since the US first warned about a response from Tehran, and the US and UK had been moving military assets into the Middle East to prepare since then.
The most serious threat came from high-speed ballistic missiles, capable of flying several times the speed of sound and making the journey from Iran to Israel (about 600 miles at the closest points) in less than 15 minutes. More than 120 were launched at Israel, Hagari said, and he acknowledged that “a few” crossed into Israel’s airspace, some striking at the Nevatim airbase.
Warning: If anyone wants to make an ass of themselves & attempts to derail the discussion by engaging in stupid partisan political attacks on other NT members . . . instead of deleting those comments I may decide to leave them up ...to let the world see how you've made a fool of yourself!
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This is one of the better articles I've seen on the subject. Quite a few details that were a bit surprising.
There's a lot to unpack here!
For starters, a few facts about the country of Jordan that may not be common knowledge.
Jordan is an independent country that borders Israel. It is Arab, predominantly Muslim. A majority of the people are of "Palestinian' descent, and some people argue that therefore the Palestinians already have an independent state-- i.e. the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan!
What probably comes as a surprise to many is that Jordan participated in shooting down some of the drones that were targeting the Jewish state.
Although Arab, Jordan is considered an ally of the west, and has particularly close ties with the UK..
(I have also heard that the Saudis also helped shoot down some of these Iranian drones and/or missiles, but I'm not sure that accurate)
I hear that the coalition hunting Iranian ducks included Israel, Britain, France, US, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and perhaps some other Arab countries quietly joined in the integrated air defense party.
Yes, I agree.
The most serious threat came from high-speed ballistic missiles, capable of flying several times the speed of sound and making the journey from Iran to Israel (about 600 miles at the closest points) in less than 15 minutes. More than 120 were launched at Israel, Hagari said, and he acknowledged that “a few” crossed into Israel’s airspace, some striking at the Nevatim airbase.
Tackling these was largely the task of Israel’s air defence system, which relies on rockets to hit incoming missiles. Knocking out the ballistic missiles was primarily the task of the Arrow 2 and Arrow 3 systems, manufactured in an Israeli-US collaboration but never used until the start of the Israel-Hamas war, supported by David’s Sling , a medium-range interceptor.
Such success in repelling such a massive attack is definitely impressive.
There is a discussion as to whether Israel should "retaliate" against Iran for this attack. That's a bit misleading, as this attack by Iran was in retaliation for a previous Israeli attack Iran was retaliating here:
Why Israel’s attack on Iranian consulate in Syria was a gamechanger
While senior Israeli officials have framed this weekend’s Iranian attack as “revealing the true face” of Tehran, the reality is that the proximate cause was Israel’s misjudgment in its strike on an Iranian diplomatic compound in Syria that killed two senior Iranian generals, among others.
After years in which both sides operated within the framework of a largely undeclared set of “rules”, Israel – as analysts have pointed out – bulldozed through every red line to attack a location that Tehran maintains was tantamount to attacking Iranian soil.
If they were smart the Israelis would not attack Iran. They really came out ahead in this current interchange, and Iran came out looking very bad. Israel should leave Iran alone-- because Israel "came out ahead" in several ways-- Israel "won""won" this round!.
Although I would love to see Israel demolish Iran's nuclear bomb program, yesterday I did post what I called an "afterthought", in that Israel was the obvious winner in Iran's attempt to cause damage, indicating inferiority on the part of Iran. Israel could treat that massive attempt by Iran as nothing more than a fly landing on one's arm that was easily flicked away, humiliating Iran among military nations around the world and showing off Israel's defensive ability. As well, it will keep the allies on Israel's side, and continue to defend Israel, since most prefer to see no retaliation by Israel, which if carried out could trigger a greater regional conflict.
As for where the "retaliation" may have actually had its start, think of the fact that Iran armed and trained Hamas for the Oct. 7 invasion, arms and trains Hamas and Hezbollah and the Youthies, all of whom are attacking Israel or attacking in support of Hamas. Since Iran is behind all of that, perhaps the first retaliation was Israel attacking the Iranian embassy.
This was a very impressive, and historic, defensive military response. It's encouraging to realize we have that capability.
I totally agree!
Especially considering the vast numbers of drones, missiles, etc. that Iran fired!
Also good news-- that we have friends we can count on! The UK, Jordan, possibly some others joined in to help.
(I suspect maybe one or more other Arab countries participated, but are quiet about their role because it might upset some of the crazies in their countries).
I read that France assisted also.
I think that you’re right.
Recently I've read on other "usually reliable sources" that not only did France assisst to some degree, but actually Saudi Arabia helped as well! (IIRC it was by providing intelligence info, not actually use of weapons. But still...that is significant!!!).
I’m not surprised that Jordan was in the mix so to speak. Over half the population is Palestinian so king Abdullah has to walk a fine line.it certainly doesn’t hurt that the king is well liked and is a fighter pilot whereas other monarch in the area don’t seem to have that petagree. Good soldiers to work with.
Not so sure about how the Palestinians who are Jordanian citizens feel about it.
Watching the news from Jordan, they are rioting in the streets but the police are keeping indercontrol for the time being.
Over half the population is Palestinian so king Abdullah has to walk a fine line.it certainly doesn’t hurt that the king is well liked
What is.. Black September?
Black September was an armed conflict between Jordan, led by King Hussein, and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), led by chairman Yasser Arafat.
The main phase of the fighting took place between 16 and 27 September 1970, though certain aspects of the conflict continued until 17 July 1971.
After the 1967 Six-Day War, Palestinian fedayeen guerrillas relocated to Jordan and stepped up their attacks against Israel and what had become the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
The PLO's strength grew, and by early 1970, leftist groups within the PLO began calling for the overthrow of Jordan's Hashemite monarchy*, leading to violent clashes in June 1970.
________________________________________
Jordan's Hashemite Monarchy = Jordan's rulers (Jordanian King(s)
I thought that members of the Black September terrorist group was who murdered the Israeli athletes at the Munich Olympics.