Click here: to donate by Credit Card
Or here: to donate by PayPal
Or by mail to: Free Republic, LLC - PO Box 9771 - Fresno, CA 93794
Thank you very much and God bless you.
Posted on 03/11/2026 7:05:31 PM PDT by Uncle Miltie
Assassinating Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and nearly all of Iran’s top military and Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps officers on the first day of the war was an incredible turning point in which all of the IDF’s air and intelligence power combined to change the course of history, an IDF senior officer told The Jerusalem Post on Wednesday.
“Assassinating the supreme leader and all of the top echelon of the Iranian military and the IRGC in around half a minute was made possible by a giant and incredibly coordinated airstrike, which took months of planning,” the senior officer said.
In 40 seconds at around 8:15 a.m. on February 28, Khamenei, IRGC commander Mohammad Pakpour, military commander Abdolrahim Mousavi, defense minister Amir Nasirzadeh, National Defense Council secretary Ali Shamkhani, another top security aide to Khamenei for over a decade, and about 35 other top officials were killed.
Among the Israeli aircraft involved were F-16s, F-35s, and F-15s, although there were many others, including the US military’s involvement.
According to the IDF, the airpower and munitions used during the first day of attacks – both in those assassinations and in wider attacks on Iran’s air defenses and ballistic-missile apparatus – were unprecedented and far beyond any prior similar power used by Israel.
“With around 200 aircraft all carrying precision munitions and all flying 1,000 to 1,500 kilometers to strike hundreds of targets all in a short time period, the effect was to completely throw the Iranians off their game,” the senior officer said. “The total surprise we achieved was extremely deadly and effective.”
When adding in the contribution and profoundly close cooperation with the US military, some in the IDF view the assault and the current war as the most devastating short-term air war in history. The F-16s were flown back and forth to Iran in the early days of the war, essentially nonstop, and took an enormous part in the most critical missions.
By March 5, almost every aircraft had flown nine to 10 sorties back and forth to Iran, with each flight taking five to eight hours round-trip.
While the pace of the F-16s and other aircraft has remained frenetic, one change was that after the first couple of days, the IAF had achieved air supremacy. That allowed stand-in attacks in which Israeli aerial assets could strike from short range, with some even hovering over their targets.
IDF, US military able to switch munitions once air supremacy achieved
Once this air supremacy was achieved, the Israeli and American militaries were able to switch over to less expensive munitions, such as Joint Direct Attack Munitions (JDAMS), something that the Pentagon discussed publicly to push back against critics’ concerns about the cost.
Nevertheless, every flight is a challenge for the red-eyed pilots, some of whom are taking caffeine pills to enhance their situational awareness, and all of whom are being forced to take a certain number of hours of rest per day despite their enthusiasm and elevated adrenaline levels.
Part of that enthusiasm comes from the standard commitment to battle. But it has been augmented greatly by the pilots’ understanding that every time they close their cockpit and fly off to attack Iranian missile launchers, they are directly protecting their friends and family on the home front, who otherwise would come under more Iranian missile fire.
Besides the pilots, there is also a massive operation for maintaining the F-16s and other aircraft during their marathon mission.
A large part of the maintenance team at Ramat David Airbase for F-16s in the North comes from the relatively new haredi (ultra-Orthodox) track for IAF engineers.
In January 2025, the Defense Ministry announced an $80 million purchase of more advanced self-protection systems for its fourth-generation F-16 fighter aircraft just as top Israeli and IDF officers were intensifying discussions about striking Iran’s nuclear program.
Purchased in the early 2000s, the F-16s were meant to be an upgrade from the F-15s purchased decades earlier. Public information indicates that Israel purchased more than 100 F-16s. By the mid-2010s, however, the F-35 became the most advanced aircraft in the fleet, relegating the F-16s to Israel’s second-best aircraft.
Spending $80m. to update the F-16 systems was a major commitment to keeping the jets a significant part of Israel’s long-range attack capabilities, even as Israel has been investing large sums of money into more F-35s and upgraded F-15s of the F-15-EX model.
Neither the IDF nor the IAF have unlimited funds, and a decision to invest $80m. in an aircraft model created 40 years ago, with Israel’s specific models purchased 25 years ago, means channeling funds in that direction as opposed to other also important priorities.
|
|
Click here: to donate by Credit Card Or here: to donate by PayPal Or by mail to: Free Republic, LLC - PO Box 9771 - Fresno, CA 93794 Thank you very much and God bless you. |
Well, at least they didn’t suffer too long.
Darn
Caffeine pills—right, wink, wink...
Posted an article earlier about Jews on Speed. ;-)
What goes around, comes around.
Shorter, faster, deadlier: World’s militaries stunned by power of Israel Air Force - analysis
Here:
https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/4369746/posts
Including this tidbit:
“the solution devised by the Air Force was to increase the number of waves. How? Fly to Iran and back three times a day. Every pilot. And how is that done? With stimulant pills. That was the trick they planned. And it worked.”
Jews on Speed!
“Say unto them: ‘As I live, saith the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live. Turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die, O house of Israel?’” - Ezekiel 33:11
We shouldn’t make light of the death of anyone even these evil men.
That said, what these wicked Mullahs in Iran caused to happen to Israel on October 7th, 2023 they should have had missiles through their palace windows before the day was over.
They are the reason for this chaos, upheaval, war and death happening across the globe since that day.
"Come to Mama, you big bad Ayatollah!"
"Come to Mama, you big bad Ayatollah!"
Lol just for poops and giggles, Israel should szy that they had a lot of covert help from top iranian officials to get their sulreme leader. Make everyone at the top in the iranian system paranoid. Dont nsme anyone in particular, and keep teasing that they will name names “soon”. Isrzel may never have to fire another round beczuse iran will take themselves out in their paranoia
I agree, Trump just obliviates all day long anyway so he should drop hints that people within the regime are not loyal and tell him everything and let them eat their own with paranoia.
They shouldn’t be talking about it
Indeed . Iran is now in the Find Out part of FAFO.
It really had no effect, because the missile cities in the mountains had pre-arranged attack patterns, and work independently of Tehran.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.