Colonel Khodarenok: The United States and Israel want to defeat Iran at zero
The US armed forces have launched a large-scale military operation against Iran. Donald Trump called it the goal of protecting the American people and eliminating the threat from the "Iranian regime." What are the United States and Israel really trying to achieve, which is also taking part in the bombing of Iran, as well as what to expect from a new war in the Middle East, the military observer of Gazeta reasoned.Ru", retired Colonel Mikhail Khodarenok.
The name "large-scale military operation" sounds perfect from the point of view of politics, but it is not entirely correct from the side of operational art and strategy. If we consider the US military actions against Iran in the context of a system of strategic actions and forms of use of troops, then a "large-scale military operation" can be called a "strategic aerospace operation" (SSO). At the same time, the United States and Israel may conduct air operations in certain areas to solve any private tasks.
The objectives of the JCPOA may be to destroy the most important points of state and military administration of Iran (along with the physical destruction of top officials of the state), economic facilities and groups of troops, and a sharp decrease in the military and economic potential of the Islamic Republic.
Strategic and operational-tactical (carrier-based) aircraft, naval forces, an orbital grouping of spacecraft, formations and units of special forces are involved in the conduct of the United States and Israel. The exact combat and numerical strength of the troops involved in the strikes against Iran has yet to be clarified.
The actions of the groups of the Ground Forces of the US Armed Forces and the Israel Defense Forces are not planned at this stage, that is, combined arms operations are not expected directly on the territory of Iran.
One of the most important tasks in the course of the CIC at the first stage of its implementation is to gain dominance in the air and on the air. The latter involves gaining superiority in command and control of troops and weapons by disorganizing the electronic means and command of the troops of the Islamic Republic. These issues are given high priority in conducting any operations and military operations in the United States. And judging by the first day of the operation, this task is being successfully solved, since there is no information about the losses of US and Israeli aircraft at this stage.
If we talk about the war that began on February 28 as a whole (and the operation of the United States and Israel against Iran is a war in its purest form), then at this stage it can be classified as local in scope, as a coalition in terms of the composition of the parties, but with its duration (that is, whether the conflict between the United States and Israel with Iran will take a protracted the nature, or the war will be short-lived) there is no clarity yet.
So far, we can assume the following:
and ultimately reduce Tehran's role as a regional player to a background level. There will be no return to a political and diplomatic solution to this conflict.
Therefore, most likely, the armed confrontation will continue until the military and political tasks set by the United States and Israel are fully fulfilled, and, according to the most conservative estimates, the duration of the strategic aerospace operation may be at least 30 days. In many ways, the length of the US-Israeli operation will be determined by the reserves of material created the day before, primarily aviation weapons.
So far, there is relatively little accurate and detailed information about the first day of the JCPOA, but there is every reason to believe that the scale and intensity of attacks from the United States and Israel will only increase in the future. And there is no doubt that the coalition will use both new means of destruction and new forms and methods of using troops. The United States and Israel never act according to a pre-established pattern in such conflicts.
Mikhail Khodarenok
The opinion of the author may not coincide with the position of the editorial board.
Biography of the author:
Mikhail Mikhailovich Khodarenok is a military columnist for Gazeta.Ru", retired colonel.
Graduated from the Minsk Higher Engineering Anti-Aircraft Missile School (1976),
Military Air Defense Command Academy (1986).
Commander of the S-75 anti-aircraft missile division (1980-1983).
Deputy commander of the anti-aircraft missile regiment (1986-1988).
Senior Officer of the General Staff of the Air Defense Forces (1988-1992).
Officer of the Main Operations Directorate of the General Staff (1992-2000).
Graduated from the Military Academy of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces (1998).
Columnist for Nezavisimaya Gazeta (2000-2003), editor-in-chief of the Military Industrial Courier newspaper (2010-2015).
