New Delhi: Archenemies Israel and Iran edged closer to an all-out war in the Middle East on Saturday after Tel Aviv launched a series of airstrikes on military targets in Tehran in retaliation to the barrage of missiles fired by the Islamic Republic earlier this month.
Explosions were heard in the Iranian capital but no casualties were confirmed even as Tehran claimed the situation was normal and the explosions heard were due to its air defence systems hitting Israeli rockets and missiles. The latest escalation in the volatile region comes after Israel vowed to retaliate against Iran at a “time and place they decide” following the missile attack on October 1.
The attack could bring the longstanding adversaries closer to full-scale conflict amid escalating violence across the Middle East, where Iran-backed militant groups – including Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon – are already engaged in hostilities with Israel.
Both rival nations boast of a lethal arsenal including missiles, rockets and aircraft besides their military personnel and massive firepower. Let’s take a look.
Iran’s mighty missile arsenal
Tehran possesses thousands of ballistic and cruise missiles with varying ranges, as noted in a 2021 report from the Missile Threat Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).
In 2023, US Air Force General Kenneth McKenzie informed Congress that Iran has “over 3,000” ballistic missiles. Ballistic missiles travel on trajectories that carry them outside or near Earth’s atmosphere, where the warhead payload separates from the rocket and reenters the atmosphere, descending onto its target.
In its October 1 attack on Israel, Iran used its famed Shahab-3 ballistic variants. The Shahab-3 serves as the foundation for all of Iran’s medium-range ballistic missiles that use liquid propellants, CNN reported.
The Shahab-3, which entered service in 2003, can carry a warhead weighing between 760 and 1,200 kilograms and can be launched from mobile platforms as well as from silos. According to Iran Watch, the latest variants of the Shahab-3, the Ghadr and Emad missiles, can achieve accuracies within 300 meters (nearly 1,000 feet) of their intended targets.
Another missile Iran used in the attack is the new Fattah-1. Tehran describes the Fattah-1 as a “hypersonic” missile, meaning it travels at Mach 5—five times the speed of sound, or roughly 3,800 miles per hour (6,100 kilometers per hour) and can cover a distance up to 300 kilometers.
In long-range missiles, Iran possesses the Shahab-3, Khoramshahr, Sejjil and Soumar cruise missile with each of them capable of hitting targets as far as 2,500 kilometers.
Israel’s arsenal and defence system
Israel possesses at least four types of ballistic missiles covering small, medium, and intermediate ranges. These include the LORA, with a range of 280 km, and the Jericho-3, which can reach distances between 4,800- 6,500 km.
Israel also operates an array of defence systems capable of intercepting threats ranging from ballistic missiles, which exit the atmosphere, to low-flying cruise missiles and rockets.
Much attention has focused on its highly effective Iron Dome system, which is designed to intercept rockets and artillery fire. However, the Iron Dome represents only the lowest tier of Israel’s missile defence and would not have been used to counter the ballistic missiles launched on Tuesday night, according to Israel’s Missile Defense Organization (IMDO).
The next level in Israel’s defence hierarchy is David’s Sling, which guards against short- and medium-range threats, according to the IMDO.
David’s Sling, developed jointly by Israel’s RAFAEL Advanced Defense System and US defence giant Raytheon, employs Stunner and SkyCeptor kinetic hit-to-kill interceptors to eliminate targets up to 186 miles away, according to the Missile Threat Project at the CSIS.
Above David’s Sling are Israel’s Arrow 2 and Arrow 3 systems, which were also developed in partnership with the United States.
The Arrow 2 uses fragmentation warheads to intercept incoming ballistic missiles in their terminal phase—when they are descending toward their targets—in the upper atmosphere, according to the CSIS.
