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Iran Launches Drone Attack on Israel

Writer's picture: Brandt KemmererBrandt Kemmerer

Updated: Apr 23, 2024

On April 12th, the United States restricted staff travel from embassy to embassy over fear of an Iranian attack. Sure enough, on April 15th, Iran launched a large-scale attack on Israel but was very unsuccessful. Iran launched more than 300 drones equipped with Iran's most capable ballistic missile, carrying a payload of 1,600 pounds, but a combination of Israeli defenses and the United States defenses were able to fend off most of the drones and missiles.


Israel has an advanced defense system called the "Iron Dome," which is backed by the United States. Most of the dirty work by the Iron Dome is done by its radar system, which tracks the missile until it is in range of a Tamir interceptor missile. The Iron Dome has been putting in overtime as of late between the war in Gaza and the constant attacks.

On the 15th, the Iron Dome had to fend off hundreds of missiles and has shot down more than 7,000 in the last year.

Each missile costs around $40,000 but is very much worth it because of the lives it saves and its success rate. The Iron Dome has just above a 90% success rate, which is very good for how much it is used. After this most recent attack, there was only one casualty, and it wasn't from a direct missile hit. The singular death from this attack was a seven-year-old girl who was severely injured by shrapnel and eventually succumbed to her injuries. Per CBS News, the attacks did result in a loss of four Israeli F-35 fighter jets, based out of Nevatim Air Force Base. This was likely Iran's target as the Israeli F-35s carried out an attack on an Iranian consulate two weeks earlier, which took out two generals. It is also said that another ballistic missile was aimed at an Israeli radar station, but Iran's ancient technology caused it to miss badly. During this time, Israel also had to fend off missiles launched from other countries, like Lebanon, Yemen, and Iraq; these also missed and never even crossed into Israeli territory.


Israel would obviously like to respond to Iran, but they simply cannot. I don't condone war, but they probably should, and I would, but Israel simply does not have the resources needed. As of now, Israel's army is too outstretched and is collapsing, thus they do not even have the soldiers to fight back. Israel also does not have much of an economy as of late, as their war in Gaza has basically collapsed that, too. What Israel does have is Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles (ICBMs), but that is far too big of a weapon to use on Iran. While these are no Trident II missiles that the United States has, these missiles can strike within minutes. These weapons of mass destruction are great for Israel to have, but only if they want to go into a full-scale war, which they cannot afford to do.


Another reason Israel has not retaliated is because they would likely end up dragging the United States into it, given the weapons they have available to them. Israel's retaliation would mean that the war would change from a regional war to a global war or World War. Nobody wants that, but Iran keeps pushing the boundary, and eventually, Israel will have to do something because they are running on empty and don't have many options left. Israel's Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has been very vocal on how Israel would respond, saying that they would be "rampant," much like they were in response to other attacks on Israel. The United States does not appear to have any submarines deployed off the coast of any Middle Eastern countries, and last did back at the start of November. Still, we may have them there, and regular citizens don't know. If we do not already have one there, one or more may be allocated to patrol the coast of a Middle Eastern country soon.


So far, it looks like Israel will abstain from retaliating, which is probably for the better, as it would be a costly option for them, and not just in a monetary way. Given that, Israel not responding may tickle Iran to launch another attack, as they know Israel is already beaten down. This would cause Israel to become very short on supplies and drag the United States in, so it can keep supplying Israel. This would come out of American pockets, and not all Americans may be in support of that, so that may start harsh internalized feelings within America. Obviously, with the United States coming into play, the outlook becomes a lot bleaker for Iran and the rest of the world. As the United States would likely flatten Iran, and allies of Iran may try and hit back at the United States, triggering a global war.

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