Israel Achieves in Iran in 48 Hours What Russia Couldn’t in Ukraine in 3 Years - WSJ
Within 48 hours of launching its war against Iran, Israel declared it had gained air superiority over the western part of the country, including Tehran, The Gaze reports, citing The Wall Street Journal.
That achievement stands in stark contrast to Russia’s struggle in Ukraine, where “the giant Russian air force has been unable to achieve [air superiority] in Ukraine in 3½ years of war.” This failure has left Moscow’s troops mired in trench warfare since their failed bid to seize Kyiv in February 2022.
On Sunday, Israel announced the destruction of dozens of surface-to-air missile systems and the killing of the intelligence chief of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, along with his deputy.
Military experts emphasize the decisive role of air dominance. “The two campaigns are showing the fundamental importance of air superiority in order to succeed in your overall military objectives,” said retired U.S. Lt. Gen. David Deptula. By contrast, he added, “You see what happens when neither side can achieve air superiority: stalemate and devolution to attrition-based warfare.”
Israel initially deployed stealth F-35s, later joined by older F-15s and F-16s as Iranian air defenses were suppressed. Israeli Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir said, “Over the past 24 hours, we completed an aerial route to Tehran and conducted an aerial breaching battle. IAF pilots are flying at great risk to their lives… striking hundreds of different targets with precision.”
Analysts argue Israel’s air force is far more capable than Russia’s, while Ukraine’s air defenses are stronger than Iran’s. Michael Kofman of the Carnegie Endowment noted, “Israel achieved surprise and overmatch over Iran’s air defenses, which represented a much easier target set than Ukraine’s… The asymmetry in qualitative capability between Israel’s air force and Russia is also vast.”
Despite significant civilian casualties on both sides, military analysts say Israel now holds the tactical advantage. “What the Israelis are doing is just steadily leveraging an advantage,” said retired U.S. Air Force Gen. Timothy Ray.
As The Gaze previously reported, Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry has voiced deep concern over the escalating conflict in the Middle East after Israeli forces launched overnight airstrikes targeting Iran’s nuclear and military facilities.