Why has Israel not attacked Iran even after 12 days?
Israel has vowed to attack Iran and the war room is discussing the methods of attack one after the other. Israel intends that the attack should be extremely lethal and send a message to the whole world. The biggest challenge in front of Israel is an Iranian 'invisible wall', which is its robust air defense system.
Iran has developed a robust air defense system to protect its important military and nuclear sites. It includes modern systems like the Russian-made S-300, SA-22, and indigenous 'Khordad' and 'Bavar 373'. With the help of these air defense systems, Iran's airspace is considered extremely secure, which makes air attacks challenging for Israel.
The most important system in Iran's air defense system is the S-300 acquired from Russia. This system is capable of targeting fighter planes from a distance of 100 miles. The S-300 system can fire dozens of missiles at multiple targets simultaneously, which are five times faster than the speed of sound, due to this ability it can prove difficult for Israeli fighter jets to dodge it. However, if Israel knows the exact location of these systems, then its fighter jets can attack while staying outside their range.
Apart from this, the high mobility of the SA-22 system makes it even more dangerous. This system is installed on trucks, which makes it easy to deploy it anywhere. It can shoot down planes flying at an altitude of 40 thousand feet. Apart from this, Iran also has advanced systems like 'Khordad' and 'Bavar 373', which are based on the old Soviet SA-6 system. All these systems together make Iran's airspace more secure.
Israel's challenges and strengths
Israel has state-of-the-art stealth fighter jets such as the F-35, which may be able to evade Iran's radar system. However, as these aircraft fly with large bombs, their structure changes and they can come on radar. This also increases the challenge for Israeli pilots, despite this, Israel has shown the ability to penetrate Iran's air defense in recent years. In April 2024, Israel destroyed an S-300 radar system in Isfahan, making it clear that Iran's airspace is not as impenetrable as believed.
Iran's weaknesses
Iran's biggest weakness is that it lacks modern fighter jets. Most of Iran's fighter jets are 40 years old and do not have the capability to stand up to Israel's state-of-the-art aircraft. This weakness provides a significant opportunity for Israel, can intrude into Iran's airspace.
Future Direction
However, Iran has stepped up its efforts to acquire the S-400 system from Russia. Now it will be important to see whether Israel's plan succeeds in breaking into Iran's security or not. Israel's Defense Minister Yoav Galant has made it clear that a precise and deadly attack will be carried out on Iran. After this statement, it is likely that tensions between Israel and Iran may increase further in the coming times.
Iran's air defense system is certainly strong, but Israel's technological edge has the full potential to challenge it. Israel has finalized the strategy of accurate and deadly attacks.