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Diplomacy and deterrence failed, but on Saturday night the US military intervened to protect Israel from an unprecedented attack by Iran. We commend the near-perfect missile defense, including U.S. aircraft and warships, for shooting down 170 drones, 30 cruise missiles, and 120 ballistic missiles.
As Iran gears up, President Biden again made clear that Iran’s military preparations were being monitored and sought to halt military action. It didn’t work against Iran (or against Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukraine in 2022).
The “forbidden” warning has been deprecated. Biden’s foreign policy team needs to wake up to the reality that the word deterrence is broken at this point.
What is Israel’s first line of defense, the Iron Dome?
Fortunately, the men and women of the U.S. military deployed to the Middle East had Israeli support. It culminated years of commitment to technology and training, as well as many tactical lessons learned from operations in the Red Sea since last fall. Young soldiers and noncommissioned officers from the United States, Britain, France, and Jordan led a large-scale rescue effort.
Note to China and Xi Jinping: Every component of this missile defense, from destroyers to fighters to Arrows, Patriots, and Iron Domes, can be deployed to protect Taiwan, the Philippines, or other U.S. allies. can. Just say it.
This is what Saturday night looked like.
First, intelligence services in both Israel and the United States picked up early signs that Iran was deploying drones, cruise missiles, and ballistic missile launchers. This was an extremely important item. Satellites, aerial reconnaissance, cyber sleuths, electronic signals experts, and good old-fashioned human spies were watching for “signs and warnings” as Iranian military and militia readied their weapons and crews.
I’m telling you, our intelligence experts were probably watching the Iranians finish their tea and get into their trucks and prepare their drones. White House official John Kirby said the Pentagon also had time to reposition destroyers in the Eastern Mediterranean and send in additional U.S. Air Force fighter squadrons.
On Saturday night, the United States and Israel immediately began the launch. Iran was so brazen that there was no way I could have missed it. In fact, the US military killed seven drones and one ballistic missile at launch pads in Yemen. That would be ideal.
Then, as hundreds of missiles and drones took to the air, U.S. and Israeli radars began tracking the projectiles and assigning ships and aircraft to target them. The slim, hazy-gray U.S. Navy destroyer off the coast of Israel and in the Red Sea is an expert in missile defense.
DDG-51 is equipped with the AN/SPY-1 radar. (Look for his array of flat octagonal antennas on the mast.) As Iranian missiles and drones head toward Israel, the Navy’s AN/SPY-1 radar will detect what’s in the sky and what’s on the attack. Show a picture of where you’re going and start linking. It’s like watching an outfielder catch a pop fly ball in baseball.
Iran’s obvious preparation and big attack gave the defenders plenty of time. An hour is a long time in missile defense. It’s both an art and a science, but effective missile warning has allowed us to intercept the majority of in-flight drones and missiles.
Airborne fighters aimed their sensitive long-range radars to pick up the Iranian salvo. U.S. Navy F/A-18s from the aircraft carrier Dwight D. Eisenhower, U.S. F-35s possibly based in the area, Jordanian F-16 fighters, and the Israeli Air Force were put into action. The controller passed the missile and drone tracking positions, which were displayed on the cockpit radar.
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Once spotted, Iran’s slow and noisy drones become easy prey. According to U.S. Central Command, the U.S. suffered 80 unmanned aircraft and six ballistic missiles. Jordan shot down a number of drones in Jordan’s sovereign airspace. Saudi Arabia probably doesn’t want to talk about it, but the crown prince likely gave permission to use Saudi airspace as needed in the heat of battle.
Cruise missiles can be a little more difficult than drones, especially when piloting them. But fighter jets and missile defenses Saturday night were more than a match for Iranian cruise missiles. Recall that in October, Israeli F-35 Adir fighter jets (made in the United States) tracked and shot down a Houthi cruise missile that was flying toward Israel.
Iran’s obvious preparation and big attack gave the defenders plenty of time. An hour is a long time in missile defense. It’s both an art and a science, but effective missile warning has allowed us to intercept the majority of in-flight drones and missiles.
Given that all Iranian drones were shot down over the Red Sea and Ukraine, the Pentagon has the most up-to-date data on the flight characteristics and target signatures of Iranian weapons, and shares these tactical updates with Israeli and are sharing. Being able to see what drones and missiles look like on radar on Saturday night was a big help.
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Finally, Israelis live under the best layered missile defense in the world. The exoatmospheric Arrow system hit almost all incoming ballistic missiles mid-flight, destroying most of the warheads in space before re-entry. Other things I passed were Patriot and Iron Dome. We are ready for doomsday defense.
All of this was greatly aided by Gen. Michael “Eric” Kurilla of Central Command and the U.S. Army, who met with Israeli officials last week and organized a team to assist Israel on Saturday night. U.S. Central Command has shot down Houthi missiles from Yemen and is airdropping relief supplies into the Gaza Strip almost daily. We should be grateful to the American men and women serving across the Middle East for stepping in to protect our allies when the White House’s warnings failed.
Click here to read more from Rebecca Grant