Iran’s Israel Strike Ditched Drones & Cruise Missiles and Was More Effective for It

First image of damage released, as Israel bombs an Iranian depot in Syria under Russian air-defense umbrella

Published: October 3, 2024, 11:23 pm

    The Iranian ballistic missile strike on Israel targeted multiple IDF bases, but it is the strike on the Nevatim airbase that produced the most footage by far. This is because the airbase is located right next to a Palestinian Bedouin village (Ararat an-Naqab).

    The videos sent into the world by the villagers show upward of ten ballistic missiles detonating on the ground.

    So far one satellite image has been released of the base post-strike, showing five impacts. Four didn’t accomplish much except cratering the runway, while the fifth hit a hangar. If anything was inside, it is probably not flying again.

     

    However, the released image shows only a small portion of the base, the full extent of damage at Nevatim and elsewhere remains unknown.

    Overall we can say that this Iranian attack was much more impactful than the strike in April. The April attack combined drones (170), cruise missiles (30), and ballistic missiles (120), timing them to impact at the same time. As cruise missiles, and especially drones are far slower than ballistic missiles they had to be fired 8 hours in advance and this gave an extended warning to Israel.* Indeed reportedly Iran even sent a warning to the US through background channels.

    This time it was different. Only ballistic missiles (180) were fired, and Tehran did not even ground civilian flight in preparation for the strike. The result was that far more missiles broke through to their targets than in April, when the vast majority were intercepted.

    Tehran has thus shown that its teeth are a lot sharper than the ineffectual (and possibly designed to be ineffectual) April strike may have led some to believe.

    Question is how much more destructive a strike is Iran capable of delivering? The US claims Iran has a stockpile of 3000 ballistic missiles with the requisite range to reach Israel, but how many delivery vehicles? What is the biggest salvo Iran can fire, and how quickly could it launch the second after the first?

    A limited strike with a smaller salvo is by necessity far less effective than firing from all launch vehicles at once, since the probability of overwhelming air defenses is much lower.

    The US is now coordinating with Israel on devising a strike on Iran. In the meantime, Israel has already struck Iranian and Syrian targets in Syria. Among them an Iranian weapons storage next to the Russian airbase at Khmeimim, and under the Russian air defense umbrella. (Some claimed that Israel bombed the Russians but this is false. The Russian air defense was activated against Israeli missiles, however.)

    Albeit the Iranian ballistic missile strike targeted solely military bases and the Mossad HQ, it is said that Israel is planning to hit back at Iranian oil infrastructure and civilian nuclear facilities.

    *Mixing up drones, cruise missiles and ballistic missiles to raise the complexity for air defenses is something that Russia does to great effect in Ukraine, but the environment there is different. Ukraine is enormous, 25 times larger than Israel, and its air defense cover is thus far spottier. So when the Russians launch drones ahead of missiles this reveals little of use to the Ukrainians, neither the region that will be targeted, nor the approximate time of drone and missile impacts, since the drones are at liberty to take confusing, circuitous routes over Ukraine before ever heading for the targeted region. Additionally, Russia and Ukraine are neighbors so the distances involved are shorter, meaning the drones have to be launched fewer hours in advance and have plenty of fuel left over for maneuvers.

    All rights reserved. You have permission to quote freely from the articles provided that the source (www.freewestmedia.com) is given. Photos may not be used without our consent.

    Marko Marjanović

    marko@freewestmedia.com

    Consider donating to support our work

    Help us to produce more articles like this. FreeWestMedia is depending on donations from our readers to keep going. With your help, we expose the mainstream fake news agenda.

    Keep ​your language polite​. Readers from many different countries visit and contribute to Free West Media and we must therefore obey the rules in​,​ for example​, ​Germany. Illegal content will be deleted.

    If you have been approved to post comments without preview from FWM, you are responsible for violation​s​ of​ any​ law. This means that FWM may be forced to cooperate with authorities in a possible crime investigation.

    If your comments are subject to preview ​by FWM, please be patient. We continually review comments but depending on the time of day it can take up to several hours before your comment is reviewed.

    We reserve the right to del​ete​ comments that are offensive, contain slander or foul language, or are irrelevant to the discussion.

    No comments.

    By submitting a comment you grant Free West Media a perpetual license to reproduce your words and name/web site in attribution. Inappropriate and irrelevant comments will be removed at an admin’s discretion. Your email is used for verification purposes only, it will never be shared.

    Face of War

    IDF Invasion Threatens to Repeat Hezbollah’s Own Mistake in Opening a War for Its Own Sake

    Working on revenge for 18 years Israel gave a complacent Hezbollah more than it bargained for, but what now?

    Israeli Special Forces Enter Southern Lebanon; US Told Invasion Imminent

    A US donation of $8.7 billion in military aid secured ahead of the enterprise

    The Wall Street Journal: Lebanon Ground War Will Be a Different Story for Israel

    "It's a little like saying to the United States in 1980, 'Let's go back into Vietnam.'"

    Ka-52 crashes after being hit by a Swedish RBS 70. Russian sources report that one of the two pilots died in the crash. Image: Telegram

    Swedish Weapon Takes Down Russia’s Best Attack Helicopter

    The Russian attack helicopter Ka-52 is considered one of the world's best and has struck fear in Ukraine, where it has hunted down tanks and other armored vehicles, often beyond the range of many light anti-aircraft systems. However, it has met its match in the Swedish air defense missile system RBS 70, which has quickly led to significant losses for the Russian helicopter forces.

    THE RAPIER air defence system is manufactured by the British Aircraft Corporation and was commissioned in 1971. The missiles have a range of 8 kilometers and are guided by an unusual optical guidance system which provides high accuracy. The system’s short response time and the high maneuverability of the missile has med Rapier popular. Foto: Richard Watt/ Defence Imagery

    Switzerland destroys its weapons instead of giving them to Ukraine

    Despite growing international pressure, Switzerland is instead destroying older air defense systems that it has decommissioned. The country claims that sending weapons to a warring party would violate its historical neutrality policy.

    Food, energy, housing: True German inflation is 56 percent

    BerlinPrices are skyrocketing and we are all getting poorer - everyone feels the price shock, but in statistics it shows up much smaller. Official inflation figures are around 10 percent. But many citizens notice in their everyday life: Prices are rising - in the supermarket, at the gas station - much faster.

    Arms race in the deep: ‘Seabed Warfare’

    An article published in issue 148 (July-August 2022) of the German military journal Deutschen Militärzeitschrift (DMZ), examined underwater warfare in the 21st century and its importance for geopolitical and security policy. Due to the current developments surrounding the acts of sabotage on the Baltic Sea pipelines Nord Stream 1 and 2, this article has gained unexpected prominence.

    American Armenians call for an immediate end to Azeri aggression

    Armenian Americans for Human Rights (AAHR), founded in the United States in 2018, issued a press release issued on the dire situation in Nagorno-Karabagh, strongly condemning the latest aggression by Azerbaijan against the Republic of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabagh) and the Republic of Armenia.

    Oil wars: Iran responds to British seizure of oil tanker

    When the British military seized an Iranian oil tanker, its Marine commandos came on board the vessel by helicopter. Iran has now demonstrated that it can act on the same operational level as Britain, says a military analyst.

    Visit to Syria: Will the refugees in Europe return?

    SYRIASyria is now safe except for one province that remains to be liberated, and former refugees are needed to help rebuild the country. That was the message received by Mikael Jansson, Swedish Member of Parliament and candidate for nationalist Alternative for Sweden, when he visited Syria last week. Reporters from Free West Media were included in the official delegation and interviewed several political and religious leaders as well as returning refugees.

    Go to archive