The Brief – Spot the differences: Attacks on Israel and Ukraine

It’s the same drones and almost the same missiles, but Israel’s outstanding air defences and the decisive help it got from a mighty coalition of allies, including the US, wildly surpass anything Ukraine can hope for.

Iran launched its first-ever direct assault on Israeli territory late on Saturday, in retaliation for a deadly strike by Israel on Tehran’s consulate in Damascus on 1 April.

The attack included 170 drones and 30 cruise missiles, none of which entered Israeli territory, and 110 ballistic missiles, of which a small number reached Israel, a military spokesman said.

The ballistic missiles were fired almost an hour after the slower-moving drones so that they would strike Israel at roughly the same time, Iran said.

The goal was to saturate Israel’s ‘Iron Dome’ air defence system with a simultaneous strike.

According to pundits, only four missiles reached Israeli territory, and all others were intercepted either outside Israeli airspace or over the country.

Only one person was injured, a seven-year-old Israeli girl who was hit by shrapnel.

Overall, this is quite a remarkable success for Israel and its allies. According to the US Central Command (Centcom), its forces destroyed more than 80 drones and at least six ballistic missiles.

UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has confirmed that UK RAF Typhoon jets also shot down a number of Iranian attack drones.

Jordan also intercepted flying objects that entered its airspace to secure the safety of its citizens, a Jordanian cabinet statement said.

France helped to patrol airspace but it was unclear if they had shot down any drones or missiles, the Israeli military said.

There is no official coalition supporting Israel but against Iran, Tel Aviv can clearly count on these countries, plus Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

This adds to the argument that Israel has enough reasons to consider this episode a victory and refrain from retaliating.

The last thing US President Joe Biden needs is a Middle East war to send oil prices skywards and put an end to his re-election hopes.

That’s why Biden warned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that the US will not take part in a counter-offensive against Iran, an option Netanyahu’s war cabinet seems to favour.

During the weekend, the world’s attention was focused on the Israel-Iran tensions and this doesn’t help Ukraine, targetted by daily Russian airstrikes in which Iran-designed drones are used.

Russia is using cheap drones to force Ukraine to use its scarce air defence munition against them before more dangerous Russian missiles arrive.

“It’s a shame that we do not defend the airspace over Ukraine with the same vigour,” Czech European Affairs Minister Martin Dvořák reacted.

Despite improvements in Ukraine’s air defences over the two years since the Russian invasion, the country remains highly vulnerable to Russian missile and drone attacks.

Israel’s now famous Iron Dome air defence system was built to intercept the kind of rockets fired by the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas in Gaza.

Developed by an Israeli state-owned company with US backing, it became operational in 2011. Each truck-towed unit fires radar-guided missiles to blow up short-range threats like rockets, mortars, and drones in mid-air.

Ukraine has asked for Israeli air defence technology, but Israel has so far provided Kyiv only with humanitarian support and civil defences.

According to the Atlantic Council, while Kyiv now has relatively strong air defence coverage, other major cities such as Kharkiv or Odesa are far less protected and are bombarded daily.

The most prized assets within Ukraine’s patchwork air defences are the Patriot systems the country has received from international partners. The US military’s most advanced air defence system, Patriot batteries, are capable of shooting down nearly all of the missile types currently being used by Russia to strike targets across Ukraine.

Ukraine says it needs 25 Patriot systems to protect itself fully from Russian missile attacks. The country now has between three and five Patriot systems, with the exact number and location of deployment kept under wraps.

The German government said on Saturday (13 April) it could send one additional Patriot system to Ukraine.

Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said his team had identified 100 Patriot systems held worldwide. He said some neighbouring countries were using more than one complete system to guard a single airport.

Iran’s attack against Israel has shown the world the importance of air defence in modern warfare. Will it make it clear that Ukraine needs more air defences, and fast, to those who can supply some?

The jury is out.

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