Source: Privy Council No. 10
In this round of Iran's large-scale air strikes on the Israeli mainland, Israel, the United States, Britain and other "helpers" are keen to play up "how many Iranian drones have been shot down", but as the old driver said yesterday, Iran should be very clear that such drones not only fly slowly, the target is obvious, and their power is very limited. Israeli intelligence agencies and the Nevatim airbase, which were involved in the April 1 attack on Iran's diplomatic mission in Syria, have played little role.
Therefore, what can really pose a threat to these two targets is the large number of medium-range ballistic missiles launched by Iran. The ballistic missile offensive and defensive battle that broke out in the skies of Israel in the early morning of the 14th was actually the key to determining the success or failure of Iran's air strike. This is also proved by the information disclosed by Israeli Defense Ministry officials on the 15th: Israel repelled the Iranian attack in full coordination with the Pentagon, and a US officer was in charge of coordinating the work in the control room of the Israeli "Arrow" anti-missile system at that time.
What is strange is that the Iranian side announced that it had launched dozens of intermediate-range ballistic missiles at Israel that day, while Israel and the United States reported that 120 to 130 missiles had been discovered! This situation may be that the US-Israeli anti-missile system failed to distinguish the warhead from the missile body during the final sprint of the Iranian ballistic missile in a hurry, or it misidentified the long-range rocket as a ballistic missile. According to the U.S. "Power" website on the 14th, judging from the video released by Iran's official and the information circulating on social media, Iran used a variety of medium-range ballistic missiles such as "Imad", "Qadr 110" and "Khaybar Shekan" in the air raid that day, with a range of about 1500-2000 kilometers and considerable hit accuracy.
In order to intercept these missiles, the space-based infrared system early warning satellite deployed by the US military in space has taken the lead in making meritorious contributions, and the main purpose of the satellite is to monitor the signs of missile launches around the world. In addition, the U.S. military has deployed several early warning surveillance radars in the region designed to monitor the ballistic missile threat from Iran, measure the missile's trajectory, and alert the U.S. and its allies in advance.
Israeli "Strela-3" anti-missile system
After receiving the warning of an incoming ballistic missile, Israel's "Arrow-2/3" and "David Sling" and its US-made "Patriot" anti-missile system were put into interception operations one after another. In addition, the USS Carney, a USS Arleigh Burke-class destroyer deployed in waters near Israel, shot down at least three ballistic missiles, and the USS Arleigh Burke, a ship of the same class, also destroyed at least one ballistic missile, meaning that the US Navy helped Israel intercept at least four incoming missiles, "a number that may increase with the disclosure of subsequent statistics."
But as can be seen from these medium-range ballistic missiles used by Iran, there is a marked technological progress. According to photos and videos circulating on social media, the number of ballistic missiles that hit Israeli targets is also clearly inconsistent with Israeli spokesman Daniel Hagari's claim that "the interception success rate is more than 99 percent."
Iran's domestically produced hypersonic missile
Iran's English-language Press TV quoted American military expert Scott Ritter as saying on the 14th that at least seven hypersonic missiles hit Nevatim Air Base in the air strikes on the 14th, and none of them were intercepted. As early as last year, Iran demonstrated this hypersonic missile. Video footage circulating on social media also confirmed that Ramon Air Base in southern Israel had also been hit by multiple Iranian missiles. "Several video footage taken from a long perspective confirms the rapid and powerful strike of Iranian ballistic missiles or hypersonic missiles."
According to a report on the ABC website on the 14th, U.S. officials revealed that at least nine Iranian missiles successfully hit two Israeli air bases. Five of the missiles hit Nevatim airbase, causing damage to a C-130, an unused runway and an empty warehouse. Four missiles hit another airbase. As for the facilities of the Israeli intelligence agencies targeted by Iran, there have been no specific reports of damage yet.
From this perspective, Iran's airstrikes have achieved their purpose, at least in part, – to demonstrate its ability to breach the anti-missile defenses of the United States and Israel and strike precisely the intended targets.