Israel Achieves Total Air Superiority Over Iran in 48 Hours

In just 48 hours, Israel has achieved full air superiority over Iranian skies a feat that global military analysts say Russia has failed to accomplish in Ukraine after more than three years of war. Operation "Rising Lion," Israel's preemptive military campaign against Iran’s nuclear and military infrastructure, has demonstrated the unparalleled precision, strategy, and effectiveness of the Israel Air Force (IAF).

“This is the face of the Iranian terror regime: While we target military and nuclear capabilities intended to destroy the State of Israel, they fire at population centers with the aim of harming civilians,” said IDF Spokesman Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin.

Since the operation began early Friday, more than 200 Israeli jets have struck critical Iranian targets, including nuclear enrichment facilities, missile launchers, air defense systems, and key military leadership. According to Defrin, one-third of Iran’s missile launchers have now been destroyed, and Israel now operates freely in Iranian airspace over Tehran and western Iran.

This level of aerial control stands in sharp contrast to Russia’s long-struggling campaign in Ukraine. As The Wall Street Journal reported, Russia’s inability to secure air superiority has left its forces bogged down in trench warfare, incurring heavy losses since February 2022.

“In the case of the Russia-Ukraine war, you see what happens when neither side can achieve air superiority: stalemate and devolution to attrition-based warfare,” explained U.S. Air Force Lt. Gen. (ret.) David Deptula. “In the case of the Israel-Iran war, it allows Israel unhindered freedom to attack where it possesses air superiority.”

Several factors contributed to Israel’s rapid success:

• Superior Air Power and Training: Israel’s air force has surpassed Russia’s in every critical area culture, training, innovation, intelligence, and cyber integration. As British Air Marshal (ret.) Edward Stringer noted, “All the Russians have is pilots… Israel combines intelligence, cyber capabilities, and a culture of adaptability.”

• Advanced Technology: Israel opened the campaign using its state-of-the-art F-35 stealth fighters, then expanded operations with older F-15s and F-16s once Iranian air defenses were dismantled. The IAF transitioned to using more affordable, abundant short-range bombs, maximizing its ability to deliver sustained strikes.

• Weakened Iranian Air Defenses: Unlike Ukraine’s integrated Soviet-era S-300 and Buk air defense systems, Iran has long neglected its ground-based air defenses, relying instead on deterrence through its regional proxies and missile arsenals. Israel exploited this vulnerability, quickly neutralizing Iranian radar and missile sites.

• Intelligence Superiority: Mossad operatives successfully infiltrated Iran before the strikes began, deploying drones and eliminating air defense systems at close range. Iran was caught completely off guard, wrongly assuming that ongoing nuclear negotiations would prevent Israeli action.

• Internal Weakness: Iran’s deeply unpopular regime made it easier for Israel to find local collaborators, unlike Russia’s failed attempts to penetrate Ukraine’s more resilient society.

Despite these extraordinary operational successes, Iran has continued its retaliatory missile attacks on Israeli civilian centers. Over 65 missiles and dozens of drones were launched at Israel on Sunday night, killing eight civilians and wounding dozens more. Israeli air defenses intercepted most of the incoming threats, but several managed to strike cities in northern and central Israel.

“The Iranian regime is turning Tehran into Beirut and its residents into hostages for the sake of its survival,” Defense Minister Israel Katz said, highlighting the stark difference between Israel’s precision military targeting and Iran’s deliberate attacks on civilian populations.

Netanyahu has made it clear that Operation Rising Lion will continue until Iran’s nuclear and military capabilities are fully dismantled. “We will continue for as many days as it takes to remove this threat,” he vowed.

As world militaries observe these two very different conflicts, one lesson becomes undeniable: air superiority remains the key to modern warfare. In the words of British Air Marshal (ret.) Martin Sampson, “Israelis now have the ability to use the whole suite of their offensive weapons in greater mass, more efficiently, and spreading them out.”

Israel’s unmatched air dominance has not only crippled Iran’s nuclear ambitions but has once again demonstrated the extraordinary capabilities of the Jewish state when defending its survival against existential threats.

Share this story or subscribe to our newsletter to stay updated on Israel’s defense operations and national security developments.