Iran tried to destroy F-35 stealth fighters airbase but Israel foiled the attack: TOI

TEL AVIV: Sirens and explosions were heard in Israel early Sunday morning after Iran launched more than 300 drones and missiles in its maiden direct attack on the Jewish state.

Here is what we know about what Iran attempted to target, how Israel defended against the attack, and why alarms were activated and explosions were heard across the country.

According to the Times of Israel, while a list of sites Iran tried to hit has not been made public yet by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps — the main target of the attack was a sensitive airbase in southern Israel, Nevatim, home to the F-35 stealth fighter jets _ the Israeli military’s most advanced aircraft.

According to the IDF, Iran’s attack consisted of 170 drones, 30 cruise missiles, and 120 ballistic missiles — 99% of which were intercepted by air defenses.

Nonetheless, all the drones and cruise missiles were destroyed outside of the country’s airspace by the Israeli Air Force and its allies, the United States, United Kingdom, Jordan, France, and others. The IDF’s top spokesman, Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari disclosed this on Sunday night.

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.

Pictures released by the Israeli Air Force showing planes returning after intercepting the direct attack from Iran, April 14, 2024 (Israel Defense Forces)

The ballistic missiles, however, have a much shorter flight time — around 10 minutes — and are more challenging to intercept, and indeed some managed to evade Israel’s air defenses early Sunday.

The IDF said that the long-range Arrow air defense system managed to knock down the “vast majority” of the 120 ballistic missiles.

The Arrow 3 system is designed to take out ballistic missiles while they are still outside of the atmosphere.