Nearly two months after practicing to hit an Israeli Air Force (IsAF) base that hosts its F-35 Lightning II fighters with ballistic missiles, Iran finally attacked the IsAF military base in its \u2018retaliatory strikes.\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n Assessments of Iran\u2019s missile attacks vary. While some say that it was completely unsuccessful since all projectiles were shot down, others point out that Iran never planned material and military damage, with a view to prevent a wider war.<\/p>\n Damage cause by Iranian missiles at Israel’s Nevatim airbase. Click to enlarge<\/p><\/div>\n According to US media reports, five Iranian missiles struck Israel\u2019s Nevatim Airbase, damaging the main runway, a C-130 transport aircraft, and several storage facilities.<\/p>\n Iran\u2019s Foreign Minister,\u00a0Hossein Amir-Abdollahian<\/a>, said in a speech \u2013 \u201cThe Iranian military operation against Israel was limited and aimed at squadrons of F-35 aircraft. The Israeli attack on our consulate violates international laws and treaties, and we will not hesitate to defend our interests in the face of any attack.\u201d<\/p>\n Tensions between the two countries had been high after Israel conducted an air strike on the Iranian embassy in Damascus, Syria, that killed a senior officer of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), among others. Reports<\/a> said Israel used F-35 jets for this air raid.<\/p>\n According<\/a> to a report in the Times of Israel (TOI), the \u201cmain target of Iranian drones and missiles\u2026appeared to be a sensitive air base in southern Israel, Nevatim, home to the F-35 stealth fighter jet, the military\u2019s most advanced aircraft.\u201d<\/p>\n According to IDF, all the drones and cruise missiles were downed outside of the country\u2019s airspace by the Israeli Air Force and its allies, including the United States, United Kingdom, Jordan, France, and others \u2013 according to the IDF\u2019s top spokesman, Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari.<\/p>\n The drones had a flight time of multiple hours to reach Israel, and the cruise missiles similarly would have taken around more than an hour to reach their target, according to assessments by defense officials.<\/p>\n The ballistic missiles, however, have a much shorter flight time\u2014around 10 minutes\u2014and are more challenging to intercept. Some managed to evade Israel\u2019s air defenses early Sunday.<\/p>\n The IDF said that the long-range Arrow air defense system knocked down the \u201cvast majority\u201d of the 120 ballistic missiles. The Arrow 3 system is designed to take out ballistic missiles while they are still outside the atmosphere.<\/p>\n \u201cUnlike the drones and cruise missiles, the ballistic missiles were shot down over Israel,\u201d the report added. It is not clear, however, if missiles were actually tracked or spotted heading towards Nevatim or fell in the air base\u2019s vicinity after being shot down.<\/p>\n Late in February, Iran had \u201csimulated\u201d an attack on an Israeli air base operating F-35I fighters by firing its Emad and Qadr ballistic missiles.<\/p>\n A clip<\/a> from a news feature of the launch showed four to five truck-mounted road-mobile launchers rolling into position and firing the missiles. These trucks, appearing to be normal civilian carriers, would be difficult to identify as military targets from overhead satellites or drones.<\/p>\n #BREAKING<\/a> Iran\u2019s IRGC says it has fired Emad and Qadr ballistic missiles with \u201cenhanced explosive warheads\u201d to destroy a \u201csimulated version\u201d of Israel\u2019s Palmachim airbase \u201cwhere Israel\u2019s F-35 fighter jets are located,\u201d a video aired by the state TV shows. pic.twitter.com\/It6oDjjY4T<\/a><\/p>\n — Iran International English (@IranIntl_En) February 13, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Iranian-missiles-struck-Israeli-Nevatim-air-base1.png\")
<\/a>Iran \u2018Simulated\u2019 Striking Israeli F-35 Base Before<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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