Iran aimed to overwhelm Israel’s air defense with drones so its ballistic missiles could then hit, a tactic borrowed from Russia, some experts said.
Iran’s aerial attack on Israel mirrored Russian tactics in Ukraine, according to analysts.
But Iran underestimated Israel’s ability to defend itself from such attacks, they said.
Another analyst disagreed, saying Iran used similar tactics long before Russia’s full-scale invasion.
Some military analysts are comparing Iran’s attempt to bombard Israel over the weekend with Russian tactics in Ukraine.
On Saturday, Iran launched more than 300 drones, ballistic missiles, and cruise missiles at Israel in a massive attack that, according to the Israel Defense Forces, was 99% intercepted before it hit its targets.
« The strike package was modeled on those the Russians have used repeatedly against Ukraine to great effect, » Brian Carter and Frederick W. Kagan, both defense experts for the American Enterprise Institute’s Critical Threats Project, wrote.
The IDF estimated that the attack used 170 drones, 30 cruise missiles, and 120 ballistic missiles.
« The drones were launched well before the ballistic missiles were fired, very likely in the expectation that they would arrive in Israel’s air defense window at about the same time as the cruise missiles and drones, » the analysts said.
