The IAF: Israel’s Priceless Jewel |
In the skies over Iran, the Israel Air Force is proving why intelligence-driven precision warfare remains the most decisive force in modern conflict
A few months ago, I wrote an essay celebrating the quiet prowess of the Israeli Navy. In that piece, I described it as a force that is “quietly reshaping what naval dominance looks like in the 21st century.”
At the time, I had intended to follow it with a reflection on another arm of the Israel Defense Forces – one that is hardly quiet, yet whose true brilliance often reveals itself only in moments of national trial: the Israel Air Force.
Life, as always, intervened. I never quite found the time. Until now.
With the United States–Israel campaign against Iran’s terror empire entering its second week, the world has been given a breathtaking reminder of what the Israel Air Force truly represents.
Watching the IAF in action today only reinforces a conclusion I reached long ago: It is the jewel of inestimable value within the IDF.
Military historians often note that every era has a domain that determines the outcome of conflict. In previous centuries it was the battlefield. Later, it was the seas. In our own age, it is increasingly the skies.
Control the skies – and the shape of the war changes dramatically.
That is precisely what the Israel Air Force accomplished within the opening hours of Operation Roaring Lion.
According to IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, Israeli forces established effective air superiority over Iran within the first day of operations. Fighter jets paved the way to Tehran, dismantling large portions of the regime’s air-defense network and neutralizing ballistic missile launch infrastructure.
In practical terms, that achievement transformed the battlefield. Instead of reacting to missile launches, Israel could hunt the launchers themselves.
Within days, Israeli aircraft had destroyed hundreds of ballistic missile launchers and air-defense systems across Iran. More than 600 strategic targets were struck, from missile factories to command centers embedded deep within the regime’s security apparatus.
In warfare, such momentum can be decisive. What distinguishes the Israel Air Force from many of its counterparts is not merely speed or........