Iran's launch of around 180 high-speed ballistic missiles targeting Israel suggests that Tehran aimed for significant damage in the attack last Tuesday night. This assault was different from the drone and missile attacks launched in April.
Intercepting high-speed ballistic missiles was a major challenge. However, early reports indicate that no lives were lost in Israel, and only one fatality occurred in the West Bank. This points to a military failure, even though some of the missiles and their fragments did hit the ground.
Iran's Emad and Qadr missiles, used earlier this year, travel at speeds six times the speed of sound, reaching Israel from Iran in 12 minutes with a speed of over 4,600 miles per hour. This time, Iran reportedly deployed the faster Fattah-2 hypersonic missile, which has a maximum speed of around 10,000 miles per hour.
As of two and a half years ago, the U.S. estimated that Iran had around 3,000 ballistic missiles, and it is assumed that the number has grown since then. Tehran is likely keeping a large portion of these missiles in reserve for a potential all-out war with Israel.
The rapid launch of so many missiles within minutes created additional pressure on Israel’s air defense system, which is highly advanced but expensive to operate. The stockpile of these defensive missiles is uncertain. To intercept ballistic missiles, Israel typically uses the long-range U.S.-Israeli Arrow 3 and Arrow 2 systems, first deployed during the Israel-Hamas war. The David's Sling defense system is activated for medium-range missiles, while the well-known Iron Dome system is used to intercept short-range weapons, often used by Hamas from Gaza.
In April, Israel’s military chief advisor noted that activating the Arrow defense system costs $3.5 million per use, while the David’s Sling costs around $1 million per use. Destroying 100 or more missiles would cost millions, whereas Iran’s cost for each missile is estimated at £80,000 or more.
It remains unclear how many of Iran’s missiles hit Israel this time. In April, out of the 120 ballistic missiles launched by Iran, only nine landed, causing minor damage to two airbases. From a military standpoint, that attack was largely deemed a failure.
In April, Iran launched over 300 drones, along with cruise and ballistic missiles, but this time, it appears they used slower drones and did not deploy cruise missiles.
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