Defeating ballistic missiles takes technology, firepower and capability – which Israel has when backed by the US

Published

12 months ago

October 2, 2024

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It takes a huge amount of capability, technology and firepower to defeat ballistic missiles – meaning a tit-for-tat air war would favour Israel, backed by the US, over Iran.

The head of the UK armed forces told Sky News over the summer that he does not believe any of the UK’s opponents – including Tehran, Moscow and Beijing – would be able to defeat the scale of attack that Iran first launched towards Israel in April.

“I think the US leadership and the proficiency that we have with our allies is at a level above our potential foes,” Admiral Sir Tony Radakin said in an interview.

Israel-Iran latest: Eight IDF soldiers killed in Lebanon

That attack in April involved more than 100 ballistic missiles, nearly 200 drones and tens of cruise missiles – which were largely defeated.

Israel and the United States played by far the biggest role in blasting them out of the sky but the UK and a number of other allies also offered support.

This time around, the Iranian military fired almost twice as many ballistic missiles – the hardest type of weapon to intercept because of the speed they can travel at.

But Israel said most of the projectiles were again intercepted in an operation once more led by Israeli and US forces.

While some of the projectiles did penetrate the defences, the damage was seemingly limited.

It is an outcome that the US in particular will be hoping might limit the size of the Israeli retaliation.

This is what happened in April when the Netanyahu government was urged to “take the win”.

But Israel looks to be in no mood to compromise as its forces exploit the momentum from more than two weeks of punishing attacks against Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed paramilitary force in Lebanon, including the killing of its leader, which part-prompted the Iranian missile strike.

Should the Israelis – as anticipated – launch an air attack on Iran, the damage that the Iranian regime would incur would likely be a lot bigger than what Israel absorbed unless the regime too is able to muster up some kind of coalition with its allies, principally Russia.

That seems highly unlikely given Russian forces will want to preserve their air defences to protect their own skies from increasing strikes by Ukraine – although the Russian government has been supplying Iran with increasingly sophisticated air defence systems, reportedly including the S-400, which is a step up from the Russian S-300 that Iran already operates.

The frailties in Iran’s own ability to defend its skies were exposed in January 2020 when a Revolutionary Guards air defence unit mistakenly shot down a Ukrainian passenger aircraft, killing all 176 people on board.

The error happened during a previous time of regional tensions when Iran was bracing for possible US retaliation to an Iranian attack against US forces in Iraq.

Air defence like a ‘game of 3D chequers’

The task of air defence is high-pressure and hugely complex.

It relies on a layered set of defences that complement each other, and need to be closely coordinated, while involving rapid decision-making and action.

“Early radar and satellite warning is key,” said a former senior Royal Air Force officer.

Images and movement picked up by satellite and radar are then used to identify possible threats, track them and work out if they are friendly, hostile or still unknown.

Next, commanders must prioritise the hostile threats, before instructing the appropriate air defence team to open fire.

Different threats require varying types of air defence systems, from short-range ground-based weapons to longer-range ones, with aircraft also able to play a role.

“So, a game of 3D chequers – putting in appropriate blocking pieces,” the former RAF officer said.

Ballistic missiles are typically countered by large ground or sea-based air defence platforms that can even destroy the missile while it is out of the Earth’s atmosphere – which is almost certainly what will have happened to chunks of the incoming Iranian arsenal.

I watched some of the intercepts high up in the sky above northern Israel – they could well have been exoatmospheric (outside the Earth’s atmosphere).

Adding to the complexity of the challenge of shooting down incoming projectiles is Iran’s geography.

Geographically, it is a much bigger country than Israel, meaning finite air defence systems will only be able to guard the most important people and sites – in particular nuclear facilities.

On the flip side, the distance between Iran and Israel creates difficulties for the attacking force.

Israel has a far more sophisticated air force than the Iranians so may well seek to strike Iran with cruise missiles and other bombs launched from jets rather than ballistic missiles.

But they will need to fly more than 1,000 miles to hit their targets, laden with bombs and refuelling multiple times in the air – a mission that will be impossible to hide in advance.

Yet this is a mission Israel will have trained for.

It might well be just a matter of time until its aircraft fly the sortie for real.

World

Zelenskyy demands ‘clear position’ from Trump on ending war

Published

3 hours ago

September 16, 2025

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Zelenskyy demands 'clear position' from Trump on ending war

Volodymyr Zelenskyy has called for a “clear position” from Donald Trump to stop Vladimir Putin and end the war in Ukraine.

In an exclusive interview with Sky News’ lead world presenter Yalda Hakim, the Ukrainian president said the only way for the fighting to stop was for defined security guarantees to first be put in place.

And that, he said, could only come if Mr Trump was bold.

He told Sky News he hopes UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer would drill into the detail of securing Ukraine’s future with the president during his state visit to Britain this week.

He said: “I very much hope he (Starmer) will be able to have a very specific discussion on the security guarantees of the US for Ukraine.

“Before we end the war, I really want to have all the agreements in place. I want to… have a document that is supported by the US and all European partners. This is very important.

“To make this happen, we need a clear position of President Trump.”

‘Make Putin afraid’

Mr Zelenskyy also urged the US leader to take “strong personal steps” to “stop Putin”, after Mr Trump urged NATO allies to stop buying Russian oil and put tariffs on China to pressure Moscow.

“I believe that the US is strong enough to take decisions of their own,” he said. “I believe Donald Trump can give us air defence systems in quantity and US has enough.

“I’m sure the US can apply enough sanctions in order to hurt the Russian economy, plus Donald Trump has enough force to make Putin afraid of him.

“Europe has already introduced 18 sanctions packages against Russia. And all that’s lacking now is a strong sanctions package from the US.”

His comments came following criticism in his interview with Sky News – at the Presidential Palace in Kyiv – of the recent Trump-Putin summit in Alaska.

He said Mr Trump “gave a lot to Putin” and that “he should have paid more” for it.

“I believe, if it was a trilateral meeting [with Ukraine included], we would have some result,” he added.

Putin ‘testing NATO’, warns Zelenskyy

As news broke that British fighter jets were flying air defence missions over Poland after a Russian drone incursion, Hakim asked the Ukrainian leader what message he thought Putin was sending to Europeans.

“He’s testing NATO,” he said. “He wants to see what NATO is ready for, what they’re capable of, both diplomatically and politically, and how the local population will respond to this.”

“Also, in my opinion, the other message they are sending is, ‘don’t you dare to give Ukraine additional air defence systems, because you might need them yourself.'”

Bristling with frustration – Zelenskyy’s message is clear

Yalda Hakim

Lead world news presenter

@SkyYaldaHakim

Ukraine’s president has a very clear message for Trump – you alone have the power to stop Putin, and the time to act is now.

Meeting with me in Kyiv on the eve of the US president’s state visit to Britain, Zelenskyy bristled with frustration at the failure of the Western powers to ramp up pressure on the Kremlin, even as the Russians escalated their attacks on Ukraine.

Asked if the summit between Trump and Putin in Alaska has proven a mistake, he responded without hesitation that Putin is clearly not paying a price for his actions.

Zelenskyy believes Trump is reluctant to put pressure on Putin because it might jeopardise attempts to end the war.

But the Ukrainian leader argues this isn’t the way to handle the Russian president.

Zelenskyy also argued Trump’s emphasis on getting the Europeans to ratchet up economic pressure – foremost by stopping their purchases of Russian energy and tariffing other buyers like China and India – was understandable, but that the world’s sole superpower shouldn’t wait for others to act.

Trump has called on EU countries to end all Russian oil and gas purchases – and only then will he consider imposing sanctions on Russia.

Mr Trump arrives in the UK today for an unprecedented second state visit, following an invitation from King Charles.

He and First Lady Melania will stay at Windsor Castle and be treated to a flypast by the Red Arrows as well as UK and US F-35 military jets on the east lawn, and a special Beating Retreat military ceremony.

They will also visit Chequers, the prime minister’s official country residence in Buckinghamshire, though details of what they will discuss – and whether it will include the situation in Ukraine – have not been revealed.

World

Face-to-face with Zelenskyy, his frustration with the West is clear

Published

6 hours ago

September 16, 2025

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Face-to-face with Zelenskyy, his frustration with the West is clear

Ukraine’s president has a very clear message for Donald Trump – you alone have the power to stop Vladimir Putin, and the time to act is now.

Meeting with me in Kyiv on the eve of the US president’s state visit to Britain, Volodymyr Zelenskyy bristled with frustration at the failure of the Western powers to ramp up pressure on the Kremlin, even as the Russians escalated their attacks on Ukraine.

Asked if the summit between Trump and Putin in Alaska has proven a mistake, he responded without hesitation that Putin is clearly not paying a price for his actions.

“He should have received a setback in this war and stop. Instead, he received de-isolation,” he said.

“He definitely wants to trick the US. He is doing everything he can to avoid sanctions, to prevent the US and Trump from putting sanctions on him.”

Zelenskyy believes Trump is reluctant to put pressure on Putin because it might jeopardise attempts to end the war.

But the Ukrainian leader argues this isn’t the way to handle the Russian president: “He understands force. That’s his language. That’s the language he understands. He doesn’t speak many languages, but that’s the language of force he understands – just like Russian, you know, his mother tongue.”

Zelenskyy also argued Trump’s emphasis on getting the Europeans to ratchet up economic pressure – foremost by stopping their purchases of Russian energy, and by putting tariffs on other buyers like China and India – was understandable, but that the world’s superpower shouldn’t wait for others to act.

Trump has called on EU countries to end all Russian oil and gas purchases, and only then will he consider imposing sanctions on Russia.

“I think the US is strong enough on its own,” Zelenskyy said.

“They can make this happen quicker and all that’s lacking now is a strong sanctions package from the US.”

World

Russia and Belarus’s military drills are part-theatre – but Moscow is trying to send a message

Published

9 hours ago

September 15, 2025

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Russia and Belarus's military drills are part-theatre - but Moscow is trying to send a message

At times, the sound of these military drills was deafening.

There were fighter jets screaming overhead, air strikes on “enemy” forces, and tracer rounds from artillery units pounding out of the barrels.

Fireballs and mushroom clouds would periodically appear far off on the landscape, followed by a sudden explosive thud several seconds later.

I was watching from the safety of a viewing platform, along with other members of the international media.

But even at that distance, the various blasts were still powerful enough to reverberate through me.

This was the fourth day of ‘Zapad-2025’ – the joint military drills Russia holds with Belarus roughly every four years.

It took place at a training ground near the city of Borisov in Belarus, 150km from the Lithuanian border.

Moscow and Minsk insist the exercises are “defensive”. In this case, they said they were gaming out how they would respond to an attack by a NATO member.

But as I watched, I couldn’t help feeling that the training aspect was only one part of it.

The other part felt like theatre – a show of strength designed to intimidate those watching across the border on Europe’s eastern flank.

The drills were smaller than previous years, most likely because Russia still needs its troops and equipment at the front in Ukraine.

But it still felt like Moscow was trying to send a message here – that despite the costs and casualties incurred fighting Kyiv, it’s still a force to be reckoned with.

For Belarus’s neighbours, these are anxious times. The last Zapad drills in 2021 were used as a springboard for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine a few months later. And so this time, Poland has closed its border, and like Lithuania, it’s holding military drills of its own.

Afterwards, I tried to catch up with some of the defence dignitaries from foreign militaries, who had been invited to observe the drills. I wanted to see what they made of the show.

“A very good demonstration,” a senior officer from Pakistan told me, declining to give his name.

“It gives us an insight of how war is being fought, with new technologies, in this part of the world.”

But what about Poland’s concerns?

“Are they right to be nervous?” I asked. “Would you be nervous if you were next door?”

“Why would I be nervous?” he replied. “Being Pakistani, I know what I’m capable of. So I shouldn’t be nervous by somebody else doing exercises.”

“So NATO has no need to worry?” I continued.

“No, I don’t think so. NATO shouldn’t be worried.”

There were actually some representatives from NATO members among the observers.

Delegations from Hungary and Turkey are no surprise – both countries have good relations with Moscow – but a team from the United States did raise eyebrows.

A further sign, it seems, that the Trump administration is seeking to build bridges with the Kremlin, despite the lack of progress towards a Russia-Ukraine peace deal.

Unfortunately, none of those officials would answer my questions. Wary, perhaps, of sticking their head above the parapet, as the alliance seeks to present a united front.