Iran’s ballistic missile attack hit Israel air base, does little damage

At least some of Iran's missiles penetrated Israel’s much-vaunted air defense systems during the Oct. 1 missile attack. New satellite images from Planet Labs show the aftermath of the attacks on the Nevatim Air Base.

Israel initially said the damage on the base was limited to office and administrative buildings, but there are clear signs of impact to a hangar as well as about 30 other sites scattered around the base.

Nevatim is located east of Be’er Sheva and is the largest and most critical facility in the Israeli Air Force. The base is home to three F-35 squadrons and transport squadrons. It is also the host site of the Wing of Zion, Israel’s state aircraft.

The base was also the target of an Iranian barrage back in April of drones and cruise missiles. After the Oct. 1 ballistic missile attack, Iranian media outlets reported the total destruction of several Israeli aircraft, including some F-35 stealth fighters.

It is highly unlikely any F-35s were damaged in the attack, however. The Israeli Air Force had plenty of time to scramble the planes and get them airborne before the missiles hit.

Israel’s Defense Minister Yoav Gallant also shot down the claims while speaking with IDF pilots and crew members at the base on Sunday, Oct. 6.

“The Iranians did not even scratch the capabilities of the Air Force,” Gallant said. “No squadron has been damaged, no plane has been damaged, there is no runway that doesn’t allow takeoff, and there is no damage to our continuity. Whoever thinks that by trying to harm Israel they will deter us from reacting, they only need to look at what is happening in Gaza and Beirut."

So how, or why, did about 30 Iranian ballistic missiles make it through to their targets in Israel? A professor from the Middlebury Institute of International Studies said there could be a couple of explanations.

One possibility is that Israel’s Arrow 2 and 3 missile defense systems did not work like they were supposed to, or Israel chose not to protect Nevatim and instead reallocated all its defensive resources to protecting the population centers. This would mean Israel may not have enough interceptors, and therefore, Iran succeeded in overwhelming the IDF’s air defenses.

To Israel, it does not matter if the damage inflicted by the ballistic missiles was fairly negligible. Iranian weapons breached Israeli airspace and hit their targets. If it happens again, there is no guarantee the outcome would be the same.

This is why Israel is going to be very deliberate in its eventual response to Iran, and according to a former Israeli intelligence officer Straight Arrow News spoke to, that response is going to be robust and painful .

Reuters contributed to this report.

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