In the skies over Iran, the Israel Air Force is proving why intelligence-driven precision warfare remains the most decisive force in modern conflict

A few months ago, I wrote an essay celebrating the quiet prowess of the Israeli Navy. In that piece, I described it as a force that is “quietly reshaping what naval dominance looks like in the 21st century.”

At the time, I had intended to follow it with a reflection on another arm of the Israel Defense Forces – one that is hardly quiet, yet whose true brilliance often reveals itself only in moments of national trial: the Israel Air Force.

Life, as always, intervened. I never quite found the time. Until now.

With the United States–Israel campaign against Iran’s terror empire entering its second week, the world has been given a breathtaking reminder of what the Israel Air Force truly represents.

Watching the IAF in action today only reinforces a conclusion I reached long ago: It is the jewel of inestimable value within the IDF.

Military historians often note that every era has a domain that determines the outcome of conflict. In previous centuries it was the battlefield. Later, it was the seas. In our own age, it is increasingly the skies.

Control the skies – and the shape of the war changes dramatically.

That is precisely what the Israel Air Force accomplished within the opening hours of Operation Roaring Lion.

According to IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, Israeli forces established effective air superiority over Iran within the first day of operations. Fighter jets paved the way to Tehran, dismantling large portions of the regime’s air-defense network and neutralizing ballistic missile launch infrastructure.

In practical terms, that achievement transformed the battlefield. Instead of reacting to missile launches, Israel could hunt the launchers themselves.

Within days, Israeli aircraft had destroyed hundreds of ballistic missile launchers and air-defense systems across Iran. More than 600 strategic targets were struck, from missile factories to command centers embedded deep within the regime’s security apparatus.

In warfare, such momentum can be decisive. What distinguishes the Israel Air Force from many of its counterparts is not merely speed or firepower. It is precision.

Modern airpower has evolved beyond the blunt logic of mass bombardment. The IAF has perfected something far more sophisticated: intelligence-led precision warfare.

At the heart of this capability lies an extraordinary fusion of intelligence, technology, and operational discipline.

Israeli aircraft now deploy precision-guided systems such as Rafael’s SPICE family of munitions and the LITENING targeting pod – technologies that allow pilots to strike with almost surgical accuracy, even in environments where GPS signals are heavily jammed.

Instead of relying solely on satellite guidance, SPICE munitions compare real-time imagery with stored visual references, enabling them to lock onto a target with remarkable accuracy.

The result is not indiscriminate destruction. It is controlled, deliberate force. A missile bunker. A command room. A launch pad seconds before ignition.

The devastating effect on Iranian military infrastructure has been unmistakable. Yet technology alone does not explain the success of the campaign.

Equally remarkable has been the sheer operational tempo of the Israel Air Force. According to analysts, Israeli pilots have flown at a pace that stunned military observers worldwide – sometimes flying three strike missions a day over distances of nearly two thousand kilometers.

That tempo created a brutal race: Iran’s ability to launch missiles versus Israel’s ability to destroy launchers faster than they could be used. The outcome of that race now appears increasingly clear.

Within the first days of the operation, the Air Force dropped thousands of munitions, overwhelming Iranian attempts to reopen bombed launch tunnels and reposition missile batteries.

Every sortie carried a simple purpose: reduce the number of missiles that could be fired toward Israeli cities.

Behind each strike was a deeply human motivation. As one Air Force officer reportedly put it, every mission was flown with the knowledge that it meant fewer families running to shelters back home.

When people imagine the Israel Air Force, they picture fighter pilots. But the real story is far larger. Ground crews working around the clock prepare aircraft for each wave of strikes with astonishing speed.

Visitors from foreign militaries often struggle to understand how Israeli teams can service, arm, and relaunch jets far faster than comparable air forces. Aircraft return from missions only to be turned around again within minutes. Fuel lines reconnect. Weapons are reloaded. Diagnostics run. Engines roar back to life.

This choreography of logistics and engineering is as essential to victory as the pilots themselves. Without it, the relentless tempo of operations would simply not be possible.

Daughters of Deborah, IAF’s women warriors

One of the most inspiring dimensions of this campaign has been the prominent role played by women in the Israel Air Force – the very aircrew I once described as the “Daughters of Deborah.”

Approximately thirty female aircrew members – pilots and navigators – have participated in the strikes against Iranian military targets.  Their presence is not symbolic. It is operational.

These women are flying combat missions thousands of kilometers from home, navigating contested airspace, identifying targets, and delivering precision strikes with the same professionalism and courage as their male counterparts.

One combat navigator described the moment of takeoff with striking clarity: “When we take off, everything converges toward one purpose – to defend our home.”

In that sentence lies the essence of military service. For young women watching around the world, these aircrew members are more than soldiers. They are role models – living proof that excellence in defense knows no gender. And their contribution deserves global admiration.

The current campaign has also revealed something profound about the evolving partnership between Israel and the United States.

American refueling aircraft, intelligence capabilities, and advanced platforms such as the F-22 have operated alongside Israeli fighters in an unprecedented level of integration.

In effect, two air forces have become a single operational system. American pilots have witnessed the remarkable precision and ingenuity of the Israeli Air Force.

Israeli pilots have experienced the sheer scale of American logistical power. Together, they have demonstrated what a true strategic alliance can accomplish.

For decades, the Israel Air Force has been shaped by a simple reality: Israel cannot afford mistakes.

Small nations surrounded by threats must innovate constantly. This is why Israel developed technologies that allow aircraft to strike accurately even when GPS signals are jammed. It is why intelligence and cyber capabilities are fused so closely with operational planning.

And it is why Israeli pilots train relentlessly for missions that would stretch the limits of many larger air forces. What the world is witnessing today is not improvisation. It is the culmination of decades of preparation.

As I reflect on the extraordinary performance of the Israel Air Force in this campaign, I am reminded once again of a recurring theme in Israel’s story.

Moments of crisis often reveal something deeper about the nation. A stubborn refusal to yield. A relentless commitment to innovation. An instinctive understanding that survival depends not merely on strength, but on creativity. In other words, resilience and renewal.

The Israel Air Force embodies that spirit. It protects Israeli cities today while also driving the technologies that will shape the future of airpower tomorrow. In doing so, it reflects something larger than military capability. It reflects Israel itself. A nation that continues, against all odds, to keep innovating its future.

The jewel in the crown

The Israel Defense Forces are composed of many extraordinary branches – the intelligence services, the navy, the ground forces, and the technological units that underpin them all.

But watching the skies over Iran in recent days, one cannot escape a simple conclusion. The Israel Air Force is something truly special. A force built on discipline, ingenuity, and courage.

A force capable of projecting precision across thousands of kilometers. And a force that reminds the world that when Israel defends itself, it does so not with reckless power – but with extraordinary intelligence.

That is why, in my view, the Israel Air Force remains what I called it at the beginning of this essay: The jewel of inestimable value in the crown of the IDF.

In these hard and historic days, the Israel Air Force is doing more than defending a nation; it is proving that courage, precision, and ingenuity can still change the course of history.

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)