None of Iran’s 185 Shahed 238 drones launched against Israel reached the country, nor did any of the 36 cruise missiles fired in Tehran’s historic attack in which Jerusalem presented extraordinary defensive capabilities on Sunday. Only a small number of Iran’s 110 Kheibar Shekan ballistic missiles struck the country, and an even smaller number exploded.
Some 70 UAVs were shot down by the Americans, and the British fighter jets that arrived from Cyprus participated in the interceptions as well. The U.S. and UK primarily carried out interceptions over Iraq and Syria. Jordan announced that it took part in the defense as well. The IDF has not confirmed if the French were also involved in the overnight operation.
Israeli Air Force fighter jets intercepted the remaining drones, outside the country's territory. A major achievement in the operation was the successful interception of a significant number of armed UAVs, effectively neutralizing the swarms’ threat. The Shahed 238 drones are kamikaze drones and are an improved model of the Shahed 136, which Russia uses against Ukraine. They are faster and carry about 50 kg of explosives.
These drones are small and slow-flying aircraft, making them difficult targets for both detection and lockdown by missiles. The F-35 "Adir" aircraft have specialized equipment adapted to detect drones, and the Air Force has missiles capable of targeting them. However, the aircraft have a limited number of these missiles, especially stealth models. It's possible that artillery was also used to intercept the UAVs.
An even greater challenge was the interception of the ballistic missiles, which were all destroyed outside Israel’s borders as well. These missiles fail to show up on radars, yet Israeli fighter jets managed to detect and destroy them. The ballistic missiles were intercepted by Arrow 2 and Arrow 3 air defense systems, and a single missile was, for the first time, intercepted by the David’s Sling anti-missile system.
This is the first time in recorded history a country has successfully dealt with over 100 drones and about 30 cruise missile launches aimed against it. For comparison, the Iranian attack on Saudi oil facilities in 2019 involved 17 drones and four cruise missile launches, none of which were intercepted.