Israel's aerial might: A deep dive into the Iran strike
Israel carried out a retaliatory strike on numerous Iranian military infrastructure sites during the night of October 25-26. Here is what the Israeli Air Force utilized in the attack.
Israel acknowledged that over 100 aircraft were employed in the assault, targeting various sites in Iran. These included a drone factory in Tehran, at least one complex involved in the production of ballistic missiles, and two batteries of anti-aircraft systems designed to safeguard Iranian airspace.
One of these was identified as the MIM-23 HAWK, based on satellite images from a few days earlier, as well as a fire at its stationing location visible on NASA's real-time fire monitoring tool. The second is believed to be an S-300 system battery, with a command vehicle equipped with radar reportedly being hit.
In the attack, Israel utilized F-35I aircraft and most likely F-15s carrying ROCKS aero-ballistic missiles, with a range potentially exceeding 1,000 kilometres. Israeli Air Force aircraft were spotted over Jordan (approximately 1,500 kilometres to Tehran), which could be where they were launched, or possibly over Iraq.
F-35I planes: Israel's unique aviation machine
The Israeli F-35I Adir is a special version of the F-35 aircraft, significantly more expensive than the standard model used by the US and NATO countries. Israel has integrated its unique glide bomb models with this aircraft, though cruise missiles are too large for the internal weapons bays.
For this reason, the F-35I likely acted as the spearhead, similar to American operational concepts, using its advanced sensors to clear the way for older aircraft. Thanks to its stealth technology, the F-35I could potentially engage, for instance, F-14s tasked with intercepting F-15s.
The second option for the F-35I might have been serving as a miniature AWACS, providing more precise targeting data for the aforementioned F-15s flying over 100 kilometres behind. This could allow them to strike anti-aircraft batteries, whose radars were unable to detect the F-35I.
The arsenal of the Israeli Air Force — possessing unique weapons on a global scale
Meanwhile, the F-15s served mostly as carriers for the ROCKS missiles, which evolved from the Sparrow ballistic missiles designed as test targets for the Arrow-3 anti-ballistic system. Sparse information indicated a two-stage design with a booster that detaches after burning out, as seen during a previous attack when Israeli-made boosters were found in Iraq.
Israeli manufacturer Rafael provides no detailed information, keeping everything under the "extended range" phrase. However, it appears to be an aero-ballistic missile, initially ascending into space and then descending at speeds exceeding multiple times Mach 1 (around 2,000 kilometres per hour). Essentially, it's like a scaled-down MGM-140 ATACMS or Iskander-M, launched from the air rather than the ground.
This makes it a very challenging target to shoot down, with only a few anti-aircraft systems worldwide capable of handling it. Due to weight restrictions, the warhead can be assumed to be much smaller, likely below 200 kilograms instead of 500 kilograms. Rafael mentions only two variants: fragmentation-high explosive and penetrating, designed for bunker destruction.
Notably, the small warhead is not a problem given sufficient precision, with Rafael boasting an error margin of just 3 metres. This is achieved not only through the classic combination of inertial and satellite navigation but also with an electro-optical seeker that detects the target's thermal image, likely based on modules from SPICE. Furthermore, ROCKS also has the capability to home in on radar signal sources, similar to AGM-88 HARM missiles.
