The United States, Israel and the United Arab Emirates have not yet confirmed this statement.
A U.S. military transport aircraft unloads the THAAD system launcher (data map)
The UAE's missile defense network consists of a multi-layered defense system, including multiple US-made "THAAD" systems for high-altitude interception and the "Patriot" system for lower airspace.
"THAAD" is equipped with the X-band tracking radar AN/TPY-2, which can track small high-speed targets at long distances. The cost of a single interceptor in the system is US$12 million. It can destroy incoming missiles with kinetic energy collision at Mach 8 speed, which is equivalent to "hitting a bullet with a bullet."
On the evening of March 1, the "True Commitment 4" action notice released by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps on its official channel stated that in the morning of that day, Iran launched the seventh and eighth waves of attacks on enemy targets by continuously launching missiles and launching drones on a large scale.
The notice stated that in this attack, the Ali Salem US military base in Kuwait "completely lost its combat capability", and three US maritime infrastructure at the Mohammed Ahmed base in Kuwait had been destroyed; the US military base in Port Salman, Bahrain, was attacked by four drones, and the command and logistics center was "seriously damaged."
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What are the tactical characteristics of the US-Israeli raid on Iran? How does Iran fight back?
Lin Sen, staff writer for The Paper
According to Xinhua News Agency's report on March 1, Iranian media confirmed on the 1st that Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed. The Iranian government declared 40 days of national mourning. The Israeli Defense Minister stated on February 28 that Israel had launched an attack on Iran and declared a national state of emergency.
Israel stated that the first phase of its attack on Iran will last for four days, and that all leaders, including Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, will be targeted. The Pentagon stated on the 28th that the United States named the air strike against Iran "Epic Fury." Israel has announced that its new campaign against Iran will be called "Roaring Lion," according to the Prime Minister's Office.
This time the United States and Israel jointly launched a raid on Iran, which was like detonating a blockbuster bomb in the Middle East. Iran's counterattack was faster and more powerful than before. So, what are the tactical characteristics of this joint US-Israeli air strike on Iran? What about Iran’s counterattack?
The United States used Tomahawk cruise missiles in the first round of strikes
US-Israeli air strikes adopt "old routines" but on a larger scale
According to senior Israeli defense officials, Israel's attack on Iran began at 8:10 a.m. local time. Unlike the previous Israeli sneak attacks on Iran and the US military's "Midnight Hammer" operation, which was carried out at night, this operation was carried out during the day. Considering that the first round of air strikes by the United States and Israel was a "decapitation operation," it is very likely that the United States and Israel obtained relevant information about the whereabouts of Iran's spiritual leader and President of Iran and took action in advance. Prior to this, high-level officials from Israel and the United States publicly stated that the goal of the joint U.S.-Israeli action was to get the Iranians to cooperate in overthrowing the current regime.
The United States and Israel have been preparing militarily for more than a month. Iran has sufficient preparation time. In order to avoid being assassinated, the whereabouts of Iran's senior political and military leaders are Iran's top secrets. They may change their residences multiple times in a day and may be in reinforced bunkers. They are "time-sensitive targets" for the United States and Israel. If it is determined to attack Iran, the strike time will be launched at any time based on intelligence.
U.S. Navy F-35Cs participate in strikes against Iran
However, the results of the operation were initially divided. The United States and Israel claimed that "Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in an Israeli air strike on Iran that day," and Israel also claimed that "many Iranian military leaders were killed." The Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs responded that Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and President Pezhichiyan were both "safe and sound." Iranian media confirmed on the 1st that Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed. The Iranian government declared 40 days of national mourning.
According to Israeli media reports, a total of about 30 targets in Iran were attacked after the war began, including the Iranian Presidential Palace and the Iranian Ministry of Intelligence and National Security. The main purpose of the US military strike is to "eliminate the threat posed by the Iranian regime to the American people." According to the US president, this attack will destroy Iran's missile industry, eliminate the Iranian navy, and ensure that Iran cannot obtain nuclear weapons. U.S. officials said the attack was expected to be much larger than the U.S. attack on Iran's nuclear facilities in June last year.
Basically consistent with outside speculation, if the United States and Israel go to war with Iran, air strikes will be the main method of combat. In the past month or so, the U.S. Navy and Air Force have assembled at least 280 tactical aircraft, more than 50 special aircraft and drones, and more than 100 aerial tankers. Bombers deployed in the United States can also participate in strikes at any time.
The U.S. Navy has assembled two aircraft carrier strike groups (one aircraft carrier and three escort destroyers), at least six deployed destroyers, three littoral combat ships and support ships. There are at least two attack nuclear submarines and one cruise missile nuclear submarine underwater. These ships are deployed in the Arabian Sea and the Eastern Mediterranean respectively. The combat style has not changed much: the first round of out-of-defense precision guided munitions + stealth fighter jets, combined with electronic warfare + network warfare, carried out large-scale attacks on Iran’s senior leaders and important military targets (command posts, radar stations, air defense missile systems, military ports, ballistic missile launch vehicles and storage bases), aiming to paralyze Iran’s command and control, air defense, anti-missile and strategic counterattack capabilities.
Iranian missile strikes US military base in Bahrain
If there is any change, it is that the US military has used improved Tomahawk missiles and suicide drones. The U.S. Central Command says it has used suicide drones to attack Iran. The U.S. Central Command announced in December last year that it had established the first suicide drone squadron in the Middle East, the "Task Force Scorpion Strike (TFSS)". This unit is equipped with LUCAS suicide drones, including low-end models and high-end models. The low-end model is equipped with a camera on the nose and is used for reconnaissance or suicide attacks, with a range of about 800 kilometers. The high-end model is equipped with a rotatable photoelectric turret on the head and a satellite communication antenna on the tail. It can carry a 50kg warhead and has the function of "inspection and attack", with a range of more than 1,500 kilometers. Because its appearance is very similar to the Iranian "Witness-136" suicide drone, it is called the American version of the "air scooter" by the outside world.
According to US media reports, US Defense Department officials revealed that in the initial stage of the operation, the US military carried out nearly 900 strikes, which came from land, sea, air and drones. At the same time, it defended against hundreds of Iranian missile attacks. Israel said it dispatched more than 200 aircraft and attacked 500 targets, which means that Iran was hit nearly 1,400 times in 12 hours, and the losses may be considerable.
Iranian drone locked on screen
Iran's counterattack speed and scale exceed last year's "12-Day War"
Iran's counterattack was faster than the "12-Day War" that broke out in June last year. It started launching ballistic missiles at Israel within two hours, and the counterattack was even stronger. The Israeli military assessed at local time that since the morning of that day, Iran had launched about 150 missiles and dozens of suicide drones towards Israel. Israel said that its anti-aircraft system intercepted several missiles and the rest fell into open areas. Iran claimed that more than 90% of its missiles hit targets in Israel. Multiple sources of information show that the anti-missile systems of the United States and Israel intercepted some missiles, and some missiles successfully penetrated the defenses and hit the Israel Defense Forces headquarters building and the General Directorate of Surveying and Mapping.
These statements are not unexpected. Psychological warfare and public opinion warfare are part of war. Both sides exaggerate their own results and belittle the effects of the other side's actions as "basic operations." This is constantly happening in the Russia-Ukraine conflict, especially in the early stages of the war.
Judging from the pictures released by Iran, Iran mainly used liquid ballistic missiles such as "Meteor-3" and "Kadr" to attack Israel in the early stage, and used a small amount of "Conqueror" hypersonic missiles and "Segil" solid missiles. For Iran, the United States and Israel have been preparing for nearly more than a month and have made extensive preparations for anti-missile missiles. On land, they have deployed an anti-missile system consisting of "Patriot", "THAAD", "Arrow" series and "David's Sling" missiles. At sea, the US "Aegis" warship is equipped with "Standard" series interceptors, which can carry out multi-layer interception of missiles launched by Iran. The initial use of some relatively backward liquid missiles can consume the US-Israeli anti-missile system, laying more possibilities for subsequent improvement of strike effectiveness.
The AN/FPS-132 radar is a strategic early warning radar. It adopts an active phased array system and has a detection range of more than 5,000 kilometers. It is an important equipment deployed by the US military in the Middle East to detect and monitor Iranian missile launches.
Senior officials of the Iranian armed forces also conveyed this information to the outside world. Senior commander of Iran's Revolutionary Guards Jabari issued a stern warning to US President Trump. He publicly stated that the missiles used by Iran in today's counterattack were just "old stocks in the warehouse," implying that Iran's real strategic trump card has not yet been played. Jabari further revealed that Iran is about to display and deploy a series of "mysterious weapons that have never been seen before" on the battlefield. He emphasized that the power and technical level of these cutting-edge equipment will far exceed the imagination of the outside world, and are designed to deliver a devastating blow to the invaders.
In addition to launching attacks on Israel, Iran has also carried out extensive attacks on U.S. military bases in the Middle East. The main weapons used include short- and medium-range ballistic missiles, suicide drones, and rockets. Iranian military sources said that 14 US military bases in the Middle East have been attacked by Iran. According to media reports from Middle Eastern countries and regions, explosions were also heard in the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Qatar, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia and other countries that day. Iranian media reported that Iran is attacking US military bases in the Middle East.
Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps claimed on February 28 that its missile attack caused "at least 200 US military casualties" and destroyed the US military's radar system in Qatar. The U.S. Central Command stated on March 1 that Iran’s missile and drone attacks did not cause any U.S. military casualties, only caused minor damage to facilities, and did not affect combat operations.
Judging from the available information, the U.S. Fifth Fleet Military Base Service Center in Bahrain, Zafra Air Base south of Abu Dhabi, Ali Salem Air Base, and the AN/FPS-132 radar base in Qatar were determined to have been attacked, and relevant videos and photos have been leaked. Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps stated on the 28th that the US AN/FPS-132 radar with a detection range of 5,000 kilometers and related equipment used to track ballistic missiles located in Qatar had been completely destroyed. Qatar later confirmed that an early warning radar in the northern region had been attacked, but did not elaborate on the situation.
The AN/FPS-132 radar is a strategic early warning radar. It adopts an active phased array system and has a detection range of more than 5,000 kilometers. It is an important equipment deployed by the US military in the Middle East to detect and monitor Iranian missiles. The radar is networked with the "Patriot" and "THAAD" anti-missile systems. The system will serve the anti-missile operations of the United States and Israel in the Middle East during conflicts. Search radars and satellite communications equipment at the Bahrain base were also attacked.
Taking into account the early withdrawal of the US military, Iran's military strikes are more likely to cause damage to fixed military facilities of the US military. However, attacks on early warning radars and communication equipment may affect the anti-missile operations of the United States and Israel. This should be an action taken by Iran to improve its penetration capabilities for subsequent missile strikes.
