Advanced warning combined with strong missile defence in and outside its borders meant many missiles were intercepted
The New York Times quoted two Israel i officials who say that, in total, Iran launched 185 drones, 36 cruise missiles and 110 surface-to-surface missiles. Most of the launches were from Iran , though a small portion came from Iraq and Yemen, the officials reportedly said.
The drones are relatively cheap – reportedly around $20,000 compared to costs of more than $1 million for many missile interceptors – and have been used widely by Iranian allies in recent years, most notably by Russia in Ukraine and by Yemen’s Houthis in attacks on shipping and Saudi Arabia.They have proven tactically useful for Iranian proxies engaged in asymmetric warfare, but are more limited in an attack on a technologically advanced state which had hours of notice.
Israel’s air defence system is the Iron Dome, which became operational in 2011. However, the Iron Dome is targeted towards smaller rocket fire of the sort originating from Hamas fighters in Gaza or Hizbullah in southern Lebanon, and it was not the primary form of defence on Saturday night.The Arrow: This system developed with the US is designed to intercept long-range missiles, including the types of ballistic missiles Iran said it launched on Saturday.
The United Kingdom’s Royal Air Force replaced the United States in a counter-terrorism air mission on the Syrian-Iraqi border on Saturday night, allowing the US to redeploy to intercept missiles in the area. The UK also said it would shoot down missiles within its mission areas.
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