Comparing Israel and Iran's weapons

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to retaliate against Iran following an assault involving more than 300 missiles and drones. Washington has urged caution, but Tehran says it’s ready for further escalation. Here’s what Israel has at its disposal and how Iran could defend itself. The option that Israel is most likely to be considering, according to experts, is an air strike on critical Iranian infrastructure. This could include its nuclear facilities. Iran doesn’t openly pursue a nuclear weapons programme, but several sites have been reported as having the potential for helping develop nuclear weapons. Israel is well equipped for such an operation. The country has 39 state-of-the-art F30 Fives, the 5th largest infantry in the world. So they have F35 stealth fighters, and they have been reports that these have been used to penetrate Iranian airspace before, not for combat mission, but just for reconnaissance. Alternatively, Israel might choose to respond to Iran’s ballistic missile attack with ground launched missiles of its own, but it’s unclear whether Israel has the capabilities to launch a similar attack. There isn’t much information out there about Israel’s highly classified ballistic missile program called Jericho. Iran has at least 42 long range air defence missile launchers, including 32 Russian made S300 launchers. Iran acquired the S3 hundreds in 2016. But experts say the S 300 might not be as effective as Iran had hoped because the Israeli Air Force has been trained in evading the missile. So Iran is now investing in developing its own systems. The Hordad 15 is the latest operational domestic surface to air missile system under the command of Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards. Last year, Iran said it had increased the system’s tracking range to 180 kilometres and its attack range to 120 kilometres. The upgraded system, called Tactical Hunter, is reportedly defended by its own short range missile system. Having these capabilities isn’t the same as being able to effectively stop an Israeli assault. Probably not. The attack may also have given Israel a better idea of Iran’s offensive capabilities. Missiles used in the attack by Iran included the Hadda, first tested in 2004, and the Ahmad one. Both missiles have arranged of around 1500 to 1600 kilometres, putting all of Israel well within their sights. Another weapon in their arsenal might be the Fatah, an Iranian designed missile. Weapons experts say it’s designed to beat Israeli air defences. The Horam Shahr is another Iranian missile that’s reportedly still under development. It’s impossible to know how these weapons will perform against Israel’s air defence systems until they’re actually used. Israel has a host of tried and tested air defence systems. The Iron Dome, Israel’s short range system, can intercept missiles within 70 kilometres. It’s frequently used to defend against missiles fired by Palestinian and Lebanese militants. Two other systems, Arrow and David Sling, are capable of intercepting ballistic missiles and much further distances. If Iran wants to overwhelm these air defences, it’s likely to rely on its key ally, Hezbollah, which is estimated to have more than 150,000 missiles in its arsenal, according to the CIA. Experts say that ultimately it could come down to attrition. In other words, someone is going to run out of missiles first. Plus, there’s limited information about what each side has. It’s just a question of who and when.