Visual explainer: Israel’s air defence against Iran’s hypersonic missiles

When Iran fired a barrage of nearly 200 ballistic missiles toward Israel late Tuesday, the country’s vaunted air defence systems, with some help from the United States, staved off the attack.
Tel Aviv has claimed that Israel, along with its allies, intercepted the “majority” of Iranian missiles, including the supersonic ones, fired in two waves. But how exactly does Israel’s vaunted multi-layered air defence system function?
India Today’s OSINT team explains how Israel’s multi-layered air defence system functions to thwart missile attacks.
In a first, IRGC (Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps) claimed it launched Fattah hypersonic missiles to destroy Israel’s Arrow 2 and Arrow 3 anti-ballistic missile interception systems. About 180 ballistic missiles, including Emad and Ghadr ballistic missiles, were fired from Iranian territory. IRGC claimed that 90 percent of the missiles hit their intended targets.
Israel operates advanced air-defense systems that have been actively used over the past year. One key system is the Arrow 3, developed with the US, which can intercept missiles both outside the Earth’s atmosphere (exo-atmospheric) and within it, as they fly over Israel (endo-atmospheric).
Iran’s attack on Tuesday was designed to overwhelm Israel’s Arrow ballistic missile defence system by saturating it. The large number of missiles also shows a big investment by Iran, which they are unlikely to waste on an “attack for show,” notes American nonprofit think-tank Institute for the Study of War (ISW).

The attack targeted three areas over a 30 km stretch between Rehovot (south of Tel Aviv) and Herzliya (north of Tel Aviv). Some missiles were aimed at Nevatim and Hatzerim air bases in southern Israel, while many were directed at the densely populated central region.
By design, the IDF’s air defence focusses on intercepting missiles heading toward populated areas, unlike Nevatim and Hatzerim, which are located in mostly empty desert areas.
The Nevatim air base, home to most of Israel’s F-35s fighter jets, is located outside the Beersheba area. As per IDF sources reported in ISW, most of these F-35s were likely airborne during the attack, along with aerial refuelers. This was done to protect the aircraft from damage and to intercept any incoming missiles if necessary. Media reports suggested that F-35s were involved in the Israeli operation that killed Hezbollah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah, which is why they were intentionally targeted for damage.

The Iron Dome system’s mobile batteries can intercept surface-to-surface rockets and drones at a range of about 70 km or 43 miles. Developed by the Israeli firm Rafael Advanced Defence Systems and Israel Aerospace Industries, it is one of the centrepieces of Israeli air defence.
Relying on a system of radar and analysis, the Iron Dome determines whether an incoming rocket is a threat and fires an interceptor only if there’s a danger to a populated area or important infrastructure. Israeli officials and defence companies have said that the Iron Dome has a success rate of more than 90 percent, though some defence analysts question those numbers.
The David’s Sling system is a land-based stationary battery that can intercept surface-to-surface missiles, planes, drones and other projectiles encompassing the whole of Israel. It has been operational since 2017.
Developed by Rafael Advanced Defense Systems and Raytheon, a major U.S. defence contractor, David’s Sling is designed to counter rockets and missiles fired at a range of 25 to 186 miles or 300 kms.
The Arrow 2 and 3 systems are designed to intercept missiles flying outside Earth’s atmosphere and form the top level of Israel’s air defence network.
Completed in 2017, the Arrow 3 was first tested in combat last year, intercepting a missile fired by the Iranian-supported Houthis in Yemen toward the Israeli city of Eilat. Jointly funded and developed with the United States, it does not use explosives like the Arrow 2, instead relying solely on the damage that is caused by the interception itself.
In addition to the Israeli missile defence array, two US Navy destroyers fired 12 interceptors at the ballistic missiles fired by Iran, Pentagon spokesperson Brig-Gen. Patrick Ryder told reporters in a press briefing on Tuesday. US, however, did not fire any ground-based interceptors from missile defence batteries in the region, he added.
Prior to the attack, the Pentagon dispatched squadrons of Boeing F-15s, Lockheed Martin F-16s and Fairchild Republic A-10s to the Middle East.