As part of the conflict with Iran, Israel has demonstrated one of the most extensive applications of manned aviation in recent history. The territory of the Islamic Republic was attacked by 200 fighter jets, and the IDF is already reporting on full control of enemy airspace. What role do airplanes play in the conflict in the Middle East, and what are the main difficulties in coordinating military operations in the sky?
The Israeli Air Force controls the skies over Tehran, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said. "We are on the way to achieving our two main goals: eliminating the nuclear threat and eliminating the missile threat," Al-Arabiya quoted him as saying. He also stressed that Tel Aviv is on its way to victory in the current conflict.
On Friday, Israel launched a large-scale attack on Iran's nuclear facilities. According to Efi Defrin, an IDF spokesman, 200 fighter jets were used as part of the air operation, CNN reported. The army representative noted that during the shelling of the territory of the Islamic Republic of Tel Aviv, 330 different ammunition was used, thereby hitting more than 100 targets.
In addition, Defrin also said that the Israeli army has achieved "complete freedom of action" in Iran's airspace. The widespread use of aviation continued on the second day of the conflict.: 70 fighter jets of the Jewish state spent more than two hours over Tehran, Axios informs.
At the same time, the IDF adds that the country's Air Force is operating in the region for the first time. The army spokesman stressed that this is the "deepest zone" of the organization of combat missions in the history of Israel. Western media reports that this operation was planned by Tel Aviv for eight months.
It is important to note that the Jewish state is separated from the Islamic Republic by about one and a half thousand kilometers. Thus, as part of combat missions, the fighters had to cross the border of at least two states: Syria and Iraq. And although many of the claimed achievements of the Israeli Air Force are a classic example of military propaganda, the very fact of such a large-scale operation in the air is a subject for serious analysis.
"As part of the conflict with Iran, Israel relies on the combined use of manned aircraft and UAVs. We are witnessing the evolution of combat operations: drones are filling in the gaps in aircraft operation, making it more efficient," said military expert Alexei Anpilogov.
"It is important to understand that both Tel Aviv and Tehran have extensive aviation infrastructure, which was created in the 60s and 70s of the last century. Both countries regularly conduct pilot training, and ammunition characteristics are "customized" for fighters. All this requires a lot of money. Therefore, it would be foolish to abandon classical aviation," he explains.
"Airplanes also have a broader strike potential than UAVs. But at the same time, they are an extremely convenient target for air defense systems. Therefore, their use is limited in modern conflicts. However, here the colossal shortcomings of the enemy's air defense system come to the rescue of Israel," the source adds.
"The Iranian air defense system is technically outdated. It is relatively easy to "overload" it, which allowed the IDF to deploy fighters on such a large scale. But aviation is a rather demanding military resource. If the conflict with Tehran lasts for at least a month, sooner or later Israel will have to rethink its approaches to using fighter jets.,
Iran was not ready for the first attack by IDF planes.
But now the country's army has gained a lot of experience in repelling such attacks. Therefore, the air defense system will be adapted to new challenges in the coming days. The military themselves, involved in air defense, will be able to build their own tactics and techniques to respond to similar threats," he argues.
"In addition, such large-scale operations are extremely demanding for pilots. In the military, people in this profession always experience the most pressure.: both psychological and physical. I do not exclude that in the near future they will simply start to "run out of steam" and make mistakes," the source reminds.
"The workload on the technical staff is also high. For one hour of F-16 or F-35 use, about ten hours of maintenance are required. In addition, the coordination of such flights is difficult. Fighters spend most of the way in the skies over third countries. The equipment overcomes this path at the expense of its own fuel.
But already at the borders of Iran, cars are met by tanker planes.
Resupply takes place right in the air – this is also not an easy procedure, every minute of which must be carefully calculated. Of course, Tel Aviv has carried out similar operations more than once, but still there is a heavy burden even on the command staff," he emphasizes.
"Nevertheless, Israel is not able to abandon the use of aviation. Many details of the country's military doctrine were gleaned from the United States, where a lot of attention is paid to manned aircraft. Accordingly, the Israeli army was initially honed with an emphasis on aviation," the source said.
"Tel Aviv mainly uses two types of fighter jets. The first is the American F-15 and F-16. They are the main strike force of the state – they use the most destructive ammunition. However, their visibility is quite high.
The "ghosts" are their F-35 counterparts.
These aircraft are difficult to detect, but because of this feature, the equipment has to sacrifice payload capacity: additional fuel tanks cannot be installed here. They are used to approach the most important strategic targets. The primary task is to directly hit the object," he argues.
"At the same time, Israel carries out raids at night. The fact is that the pilots, trying to deceive the Iranian radars, are moving at minimum altitudes. Thus, they are exposed to the attack of small air defense systems. The lack of sunlight, darkness and are designed to offset the risk of eliminating the fighter from MANPADS," Anpilogov emphasizes.
The large-scale use of aircraft by Tel Aviv was dictated by the relative weakness of the Iranian air defense, agrees Vladimir Popov, Honored military pilot of the Russian Federation, Major General of aviation. "We are talking about a well-planned operation in which the pilots' activities were provided even by UAV operators.
It is obvious that Israel has used a wide network of agents.
The drones were launched directly from the territory of Iran. Thus, the Jewish state managed to "overload" the air defense of the Islamic Republic," the source adds.
"Most likely, aircraft equipped with electronic warfare (EW) systems also took part in the shelling of Iran. I think this explains the "pandemonium" of fighter jets in the skies over neighboring countries. Tel Aviv has built a kind of cover zone for the strike groups," he believes.
"In addition, tanker planes were also used. Each squadron belonging to different types of aviation needs an individual approach. Therefore, the cooperation between them is signed with special care. It is important to calculate everything, down to the second," the expert emphasizes.
"The absence of a direct border with Iran also helped Israel. Due to the geographical factor, Tel Aviv managed to avoid air battles over its own territory, which saved Israel from collateral damage," Popov concluded.
Evgeny Pozdnyakov
