Interesting analysis on Israel’s minimal attack on Iran, which certainly seems like posturing per agreements with Iran through back channels as was the Iran attack. Interestingly, it’s been suggested that nobody likes Palestinians who do appear to be troublemakers wherever they disperse around the world, so apart from posturing for the Palestinian cause, the Arab nations as well as the west are condoning Israel committing genocide of the Palestinians in Gaza as nobody wants them. And Egypt keeping the border closed at Sinai would seem to support the premise. Of course, there is Israel wanting to gain access to the gas reserves off the coast of Gaza, and Iran’s Houthi’s attacking shipping to starve Egypt of canal revenue in order to persuade them to open the border and take in Palestinians. But then the UAE has stepped in with a $35 billion deal to develop part of Egypt. So whatever the real goals, it’s certainly angling over resources and profit while getting a lot of people killed, but then the OCGFC are eugenicists so that’s also a perk.
https://southfront.press/israel-used-secret-missiles-in-attack-on-irans-isfahan-air-base-photos
The Israeli military used a secret air-launched missile with two stages and a fairly long range in its attack on an air base near the Iranian city of Isfahan early on April 19, photos showing the wreckage of the missiles’ used in the strike suggest.
The attack came in response to the April 13-14 Iranian missile and drone strikes on Israel, which was a retaliation to an Israeli strike on the Iranian embassy in the Syrian capital, Damascus, at the beginning of the month that claimed the lives of several senior members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
Iranian media reported the interception of drones over Isfahan air base during the Israeli attack, and didn’t report any losses. Israel didn’t acknowledge the attack, neither was officially blamed for it by Iran. However, officials from the two countries as well as the U.S. confirmed to several news outlets that the Israeli military was responsible.
While Iranian media reported that the attack was carried out using drones, wreckage of missiles used in the attack was found in central Iraq, close to the towns of Latifiya and Aziziyah.
Iraqi media reported that the wreckage belonged to failed Israeli missiles. However, photos posted to social media indicate that the remains found there were only the main booster, or first stage, of a two stage ballistic missile.
The first stage also had lugs typically used for loading onto warplanes, which means that the missile in question is air-launched.
The missile’s first stage appears to be similar in general to Israel’s Sparrow family of air-launched target missiles, which were initially developed to mimic ballistic missiles and test anti-missile systems.
In 2013, Rafael, which makes the Sparrow targets, tested the latest version, dubbed Silver Sparrow. This two-stage version was designed to simulate Iranian Shahab-3 class ballistic missiles with a 1,500-2,000 kilometer range and can notably carry a live high-explosive warhead.
And in 2019, Rafael unveiled an air-launched ballistic missile dubbed Rocks, which was apparently based on the Black Sparrow, the earliest version of the target missile family. At the time, the Israeli defense company didn’t disclose the range of Rocks. However, it said that the missile has “a very significant standoff range” and “a high-velocity trajectory towards the target.”
Rafael also produces the Blue Sparrow version, which is size wise in the middle between the Silver Sparrow and the Black Sparrow.
Rocks missile is made up of a single stage. This means that the missiles used in the attack on Iran were based either on the Silver Sparrow or more likely on a secret, modified version of the Blue Sparrow, whose size is more comparable to the remains found in Iraq. These two types are typically deployed from F-15 fighter jets.
Isfahan air base is located more than 1,000 kilometers away from Israel. However ,it is unlikely that Israeli F-15 fighter jets launched from within the country’s airspace.
A series of Israeli strikes that targeted radar and air defense sites in southern Syria around the same time as the attack on Iran and the fact that the missiles’ first stage were found in central Iraq indicate that Israeli F-15 fighter jets launched their missiles from some area along the border between Syria, Jordan and Iraq. Thus, the range of the secret Israeli missile could be around 800 kilometers.
The attack on Isfahan, home to several key nuclear facilities, was not apparently meant to cause damage to the air base, but rather to send a message to Iran that the Israeli military can strike deep in its territory.
However, in doing so Israel exposed one of its top secret capabilities and provided Iran with an example of the tactics it will use during an all-out conflict.