Israel-Iran conflict: Iran launched a massive barrage of 180 missiles into Israel in retaliation for Israel's military offensive against Tehran's Hezbollah allies in Lebanon, prompting vows of retaliation from the Jewish country and the United States. The Israeli Air Force intercepted many of the missiles, though there were some direct hits damaging buildings and igniting some fires.
The military reports no damage caused to fighter jets, drones, other aircraft, munitions and critical infrastructure, according to The Times of Israel. Highlighting the ineffectiveness of the Iranian attack, the military notes that the IAF continued its operations in the following hours, including major strikes against Hezbollah in Beirut, support for ground forces in southern Lebanon and strikes in Gaza.
As Israel plans a retaliation, there is speculation that it could strike Iran's nuclear facilities as it has long threatened to do, further escalating the prospects of a full-fledged war in the Middle East, which can suck in other players like the US. This begs the most crucial question - can Iran really take on Israel's military and air defence, which is known to be quite sophisticated and effective?
A look at Israel and Iran's military capabilities
Military strength
Iran has a much larger population than Israel, from where it draws its armed forces. Iran has one of the largest militaries in the Middle East - with over 600,000 active personnel, 300,000 reserve personnel and 200,000 members of its paramilitary Revolutionary Guards. According to the Global Firework Index 2024, Iran has a population of 87,590,873 people, which explains its superior military numbers.
On the other hand, Israel has a population of 9,043,387 - which is much lower than Iran's. The country has 170,000 personnel in the military, 465,000 reservists and 35,000 people in its paramilitary forces.
Defence spending
Israel clearly has the edge over Iran in terms of defence spending. The Global Firepower Index reveals that Israel spends over $24 billion, while Tehran spends $9.95 billion. Israel also receives military aid from the US, which amounts to $3.8 billion every year, enabling it to purchase the latest weaponry systems. However, Iran does not rely only on the state budget for its funding, it also controls other companies which generate revenue for its armed forces. Studies have shown that US sanctions against Iran have negligible impact on its defence spending.
Air Power
While Iran may outdo Israel in terms of manpower strength, the latter holds the upper hand in terms of aerial power. Israel has a total of 612 aircraft, including 241 fighter aircraft, 39 for dedicated attacks and 12 for transports. Iran has a total of 551 aircraft, including 186 fighter aircraft, 23 for dedicated attacks and 86 for transports.
Israel also owns 146 helicopters, including 48 attack helicopters, while Iran owns 129 helicopters comprising 13 attack choppers. It is pertinent to mention here that Israel possesses advanced, US-supplied aircraft including hundreds of F-15, F-16 and F-35 multipurpose jets. Iran has outdated American F-4, F-5, F-7 and F-14 fighters and some Russian-built Su-24, MiG-29 fighters.
Israel is also a pioneer in drone technology and has developed long-range surface-to-surface missiles. Iran's drone arsenal is smaller than Israel's but it possesses thousands of ballistic and cruise missiles with varying ranges, like the Sejil, Shahab-1, Zolfaghar and Emad-1. Iran also used the Fattah hypersonic missile on Israel for the first time.
Land power
Iran and Israel have strong attack capabilities in terms of land power. Iran has a total of 1,996 tanks as compared to Israel's 1,370, and Tehran also possesses 65,765 armoured vehicles, more than its arch-rival's 43,407. Once again, Israel possesses advanced tanks such as the Merkava tanks, considered among the best-designed and heavily armoured in the world. Israel also has an edge in self-propelled artillery, with 580 units over Iran's 775 rocket artillery systems.
Naval Power
Neither Israel nor Iran have much of a naval presence. Tehran has a fleet strength of 101 as compared to Israel's 67. Neither country owns an aircraft carrier, helo carrier or destroyer. Israel only has five submarines, while Iran has 19.
Nuclear Power
Israel seemingly has an edge over Iran in this regard, housing as many as 80 nuclear weapons, including gravity bombs and Jericho II medium-range ballistic missiles. It is worth mentioning that Iran has been expanding its uranium enrichment programme after the 2015 nuclear deal with the US was scrapped in 2018.
Iran is now enriching uranium to up to 60 per cent fissile purity, close to the 90 per cent weapons grade, at two sites, and in theory, it has enough material enriched to that level, if enriched further, for almost four bombs, according to a yardstick of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the UN watchdog.
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