Iran-Israel war: Missiles, fighter jets, air defense...; who is the more powerful military power among Iran and Israel? know details

India.com

2 days ago

(File)
Iran-Israel war: Israel launched its fiercest attack on Iran, launching a wave of air strikes on Iranian cities, including capital Tehran on early Sunday morning, in which several top Iranian nuclear scientists and military commanders, including IRGC chief Hossein Salami, commander Ghulam-Ali Rashid, nuclear scientist Dr. Mohammad Tehranchi, nuclear scientist Dr. Fereydoon Abbasi and Iran's Armed Forces Chief of Staff Major General Mohammad Bagheri.
Following the attack, Tehran has vowed vengeance, stating that its response will be anything beyond what Israel and ally, the United States, could ever imagine, triggering the fears of a full-scale Iran-Israel war. Let us take at brief look at who among two bitter enemies is more powerful militarily, at least on paper. Iran vs Israel: Who is the superior military power? Ground forces
Iran has a fairly large standing army with 6 lakh active soldiers and about 3.5 lakh reserves. These numbers are distributed across the Iranian Army, Navy, Air Force, most importantly, the elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). In contrast, Israel, being a smaller country, has around 1.70 lakh active soldiers, but the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) are augmented by their highly-trained 4.5 lakh reserves, which can be called upon to serve, and put into active duty within a few hours, in case of a full-blown Iran-Israel war.
While Iran is certainly ahead in numbers, the Israeli army's advanced training, technical capabilities and experience, makes it more lethal force than its Iranian counterpart. Air power
Coming to air power, Israel is a far more superior and advanced force than Iran, boasting a fleet of 600 advanced fighter jets, including the 5th-gen stealth F-35I Adir, F-15 and F-16 fighters. Israel is the only country to fly customized versions of the US-made F-35.
On the other hand, Iran has about 550 fighter planes, but most of these are several decades old and lack proper maintenance due to sanctions. According to various reports, Iran has F-14 Tomcat fighters, which were given by the US in 1970s before Islamic Revolution, but these jets are practically useless as they have not been upgraded or repaired because of sanctions.
The Iranian air force also has the outdated Mig-29 and Su-24 jets from Russia, but these are no match for the advanced electronic warfare systems and warplanes like the F-35 Adir. Missiles
Iran's missile capability is regarded by many as its greatest military asset. The country has an arsenal of over 3000 advanced ballistic and cruise missiles, including hypersonic missiles that can reach Mach 5 speeds (five times the speed of sound).
Iran's missile arsenal includes, Shahab-3 (2000 km range), Fateh-110 (300 km), Khaybar Shekan (1,450 km), and the Fattah hypersonic missile, which reportedly can reach speeds of up to Mach 5.
On the other hand, Israel has a smaller missile arsenal, but its missiles are considered more advanced and modern than Iranians. Tel Aviv's arsenal includes the LORA Air-Launched Ballistic Missile, Spice-2000, Delilah and Python series guided missiles, and the nuclear-capable Jericho III ICBM with a range of more than 4800 km. Air defense systems
Israel is known for its 'impenetrable', multi-layered air defense system, which includes its famous Iron Dome for intercepting short-range missiles and rockets, David's Sling for medium-range missiles, and the Arrow II and III systems, meant to intercept long-range ballistic missiles.
In contrast, Iran's air defenses are much weaker compared to its nemesis, with the Bavar-373 (a domestic version of Russian S-300), being its main line of defense against aerial threats, which is augmented by the indigenously built Khordad-15 and Talash-3 system, all of whom pale in comparison to Israel's advanced aerial defense network. Nuclear weapons
While Israel is not 'officially' a nuclear power, its is believed that the Jewish nation has around 80 nuclear weapons. Among these, 30 are gravity bombs designed to be dropped from fighter jets, while the remaining 50 are nuclear warheads that can be carried by its nuclear-capable missiles like the Jericho II MRBM.
Israel has reportedly stored these nuclear warheads, along with their mobile launchers, in a highly-secure military base built inside a cave east of Jerusalem.
On the other hand, while Iran does not possess nuclear weapons yet, experts believe that Tehran is merely a 'screwdriver' away from weaponizing its nuclear capabilities, which could pose a major threat to Israel in an Iran-Israel war scenario.