Israel's air superiority lets it strike Iran on the cheap — and force Tehran into costly retaliation

Business Insider

5 hours ago

Israeli fighter jets have battered Iran's air defenses, allowing them to operate more freely.
The degraded surface-to-air missile threat means Israeli aircraft can use cheaper weapons to strike.
Iran, meanwhile, is left retaliating with its more expensive ballistic missiles.
The Israeli military says it has achieved air superiority over swaths of Iran, including the capital Tehran, after battering the country's air defenses in recent bombing runs.
The Monday declaration that Israel has an overwhelming advantage in the air comes just a few days into an intensive operation aimed at degrading Iran's nuclear program and wiping out its military capabilities, including a substantial number of surface-to-air missile launchers.
Israel is operating its F-35I stealth fighter jets above Iran and also its fourth-generation aircraft, like the F-16 and F-15, that lack some of the same low observable capabilities but can drop cheap glide bombs on Iranian targets.
On Sunday, Israeli fighter jets struck the Mashhad airport in eastern Iran, some 1,400 miles away, marking Israel's longest-range attack since beginning its bombing campaign and further underscoring its ability to fly largely uncontested above Iran.
The effective Israeli strikes on Iranian air defenses and military airports "will degrade Iran's ability to restrict Israeli operations in its airspace," the Institute for the Study of War, a conflict studies think tank in Washington, DC, said on Sunday.
Weapons analysts have identified Israeli fighter jets armed with Joint Direct Attack Munitions. JDAMs, which are made by the US defense contractor Boeing, are dumb bombs fitted with relatively cheap guidance kits that turn them into precision-guided munitions. These weapons are not considered stand-off weapons.
Analysts have also spotted Israeli aircraft armed with SPICE bombs. Like JDAMs, guidance kits that turn dumb bombs into precision weapons. They are made by the local defense firm Rafael Advanced Defense Systems.
Open-source intelligence accounts have noted the use of JDAMs and SPICE — which stands for Smart, Precise Impact, Cost-Effective — bombs in the airstrikes across Iran, including around Tehran. Israel's ability to fire these munitions suggests it is less concerned about defenses and does not necessarily have to employ its more expensive missiles for high-value targets. It has more options.
Iran, which lacks a strong air force, has retaliated against Israel by firing more than 370 ballistic missiles in multiple waves since Friday. There have been at least 30 impact sites so far, killing two dozen people and wounding over 590 others, according to Israeli government statistics.
Ballistic missiles, which can cost millions of dollars apiece, are much more expensive than the individual JDAMs and SPICE bombs Israel is using to strike Iran. A single JDAM, for instance, may cost only tens of thousands of dollars.
By firing multiple salvos of missiles, Iran is depleting its stockpiles; it is estimated to have hundreds, possibly thousands, that can reach Israel. Israel said on Monday that it had destroyed a third of Tehran's launchers during the fight, limiting its ability to get missiles off the ground.
Iran has also launched hundreds of drones at Israel. While these are much cheaper than the missiles — Tehran's notorious Shahed-136 drone is estimated to cost as little as $20,000 — these weapons also travel significantly slower and are much easier to intercept.
However, Iran's missile and drone fire forces Israel to expend valuable air defenses, adding to a growing financial toll. At the lower end, a single Iron Dome interceptor costs some $50,000. A missile launched from the Arrow-3 system, which can intercept incoming targets in space, costs several million dollars.
US officials said American forces in the region have helped to shoot down Iranian missiles aimed at Israel, but they have said that Washington is not involved in offensive operations.
Israeli officials announced the start of "Operation Rising Lion," aimed at degrading Iran's nuclear program, last Friday.
Israeli fighter jets have carried out widespread airstrikes across Iran, targeting its nuclear facilities and top scientists, in addition to other military targets, such as Tehran's missile launchers, weapons production sites, air defenses, and senior commanders.
The operation could derail President Donald Trump's efforts to reach a new nuclear deal with Iran. Tehran argues that its nuclear program is for civilian use only. However, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has long pushed for a military approach to deal with what he describes as an existential threat.