Israeli power: how the F-35I Adir destroyed Iran's air defenses

The Israeli military reported that the Heil Ha'Avir destroyed 12 Iranian installations of the Russian-made S-300PMU-2 complex, and now the Islamic Republic is “essentially defenseless.”

Israel's destruction of Iranian air defenses with the F-35I proves that this aircraft, despite a lot of problems during development, has become quite powerful fighter.

Focus translated an article by geopolitical analyst Brandon J. Weichert on the fight of Israeli F-35 fighters against Iranian air defenses.

Following the horrific Hamas attacks on Israel on October 7, 2023, the Israeli government initiated a series of strikes against its enemies in order to achieve retaliation for the terrorist attacks on Israel and restore the deterrence lost as a result of these attacks.

Starting with a counterattack on Hamas targets in Gaza, the Israelis launched powerful strikes against their enemies in the West Bank, Syria, and even the Iranian-backed Hezbollah terrorist network in northern Lebanon.

Moreover, the Israeli Air Force even managed to launch long-range strikes on the Iranian-backed Houthis in distant Yemen and on targets in Iran itself.

A brilliant display of Israeli power

Following these stunning Israeli airstrikes on Iranian targets, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government proudly announced that it had destroyed a key component of Iran’s air defense network, which it considers to be quite sophisticated. Countless Russian-made S-300 air defense systems were destroyed by the Israelis’ fifth-generation F-35I Adir strike aircraft targeting Iranian territory.

Israel claims to have destroyed Iranian air defense networks surrounding key sites in the country. In other words, the Israeli military claims that it maintains and increases its advantage. Moreover, these key targets are vulnerable to repeated attacks by the Israeli Air Force.

Moreover, now that the pro-Iranian (and Russian-backed) regime of Bashar al-Assad has fallen in Syria, the Israelis have seized large swaths of the country that border their eastern territories. The IDF has established itself in Syria and has created a kind of air corridor through which its planes can safely strike Iran and return to a safe place.

The lack of reliable air defense means that now all the cards are in Israel's hands in any military confrontation with Iran.

But did Israel really destroy the entire network of Iranian air defense? Of course, Iran has at its disposal not only the Russian-made S-300. After an Israeli strike that disabled all of Iran's S-300 air defense batteries, the Islamist regime in Tehran tried to play down the damage. Both the Israeli government and the Biden administration told The Times of Israel that the Islamic Republic is “essentially defenseless.”

In April last year, the Iranians expressed interest in purchasing the more powerful Russian S-400 air defense system. However, by November, Iran said it did not need the Russian system. Instead, the Iranians have the Bavar-373 system, which Tehran claims is comparable to the Russian S-400. According to Iranian state sources, the Bavar-373 — it is a long-range missile defense system that is supposedly capable of destroying Israeli and American fifth-generation fighter jets.

Of course, it is worth asking here: why did these systems not shoot down Israeli F-35I aircraft, allowing them to destroy Iranian S-300 facilities and important Iranian military facilities during the October airstrikes on the Islamic Republic?

Iran does not have a proper air defense doctrine

The fact is that the Iranians are struggling to ensure the operation of their air defense network. This is partly due to the fact that since the Iran-Iraq war of the 1980s (which Iran barely survived), the state has not been at war with close or equal rivals.

But there are other reasons. For example, in addition to the fact that the Iranian military is equipped with old systems of its own development, they do not have an appropriate doctrine for the effective use of air defense systems. While older systems are not particularly effective against new fifth-generation fighter jets such as the F-35I, a lack of understanding of the science and tactics behind a robust air defense complicates Iran's defense efforts.

Meanwhile, the Iranians expanded their defensive perimeter into the Shia-controlled areas of neighboring Iraq. But this extended defense perimeter, again, could help only if the Iranians used effective technologies and had an adequate air defense doctrine.

So the Israelis have actually secured an escalating dominance over the Iranians.

Escalatory rule of Israel

The weakened central Syrian government after Assad effectively governs a section of Syria, as a result of which the Israelis seized part of western Syria in the Golan Heights area.

The Israelis are trying to create an air corridor so that their planes can strike deep into Iranian territory. If Iran's air defenses are indeed as weakened as Israel and the US claim, Tehran is in for a hell of a bombardment in the next year or so as the Israelis seek to end the threat of the Iranian regime and the Americans support their initiative.

Israel's destruction of Iranian air defense with the help of the F-35I proves that this aircraft, despite a lot of problems during development, has become quite a powerful fighter.

About the author

Brandon J. Weichert — a national security analyst for the National Interest, a former congressional staffer, and a geopolitical analyst who writes for The Washington Times, Asia Times, and The-Pipeline. Author of “Winning Space: How America Remains a Superpower”, “Biohacked: China's Race to Control Life” and “The Shadow War: Iran's Quest for Supremacy”. His next book, A Disaster of Our Own Making: How the West Lost Ukraine, is already on sale. Weichert can be followed on Twitter: @WeTheBrandon.