Iran practiced blowing up an Israeli F-35 base with ballistic missiles just weeks before attacking the real thing (2024)

A few of the 120 ballistic missiles that were launched did manage to bypass the air defenses, including Israel's sophisticated Arrow 2 and 3 systems, and cross into Israeli territory.

At least one munition impacted at the Nevatim Airbase, which hosts F-35 stealth fighters, causing minor damage to infrastructure near the base's runway, according to the Israel Defense Forces, which said the functionality of the base had not been affected.

"Iran hoped to incapacitate the base and thus impair our aerial capabilities, but it failed," Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, an IDF spokesperson, said on Sunday, adding that "AF aircraft continue to take off and land from the base and depart for offensive and defensive missions."

Iran made no secret of its intention to attack an Israeli F-35 base prior to Saturday's barrage.

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in mid-February fired two extended-range ballistic missiles at a target that "mirrored the features and conditions" of Israel's Palmachim airbase, according to the semi-official Tasnim News Agency, which is affiliated with the IRGC.

The report claimed that Palmachim, which is just south of Tel Aviv, was selected as the simulated target because it's the main base housing Israel's F-35s and also because of prior remarks delivered by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu from the airfield.

Iranian state media said that the mock airbase, which was built in the Iranian desert, was three times smaller than the actual size of the facility. It claimed that the IRGC "successfully" hit the mock targets with "Emad" and "Qadr" ballistic missiles that had modified structures and improved warheads.

Both missiles are variants of Iran's Shahab-3 medium-range ballistic missile, according to the Center for Strategic and International Studies think tank. They were identified by open-source intelligence accounts on social media and missile experts as having played a role in Saturday's barrage.

While Iran's mock strike on the Israeli airbase failed to translate during the actual attack last weekend, it has been presented domestically as a success, according to an expert report.

"What was an abject military failure — and the first time that Israel's phenomenal air defenses have been proven at this scale — is being communicated in Iran as a success, and misinformation is being deliberately spread," Urban Coningham, a research fellow at the Royal United Services Institute think tank, said on Monday.

"Indeed, reports and images on social media have been circulating in both Farsi and Arabic which fabricate a version of events of Sunday morning in which the Israeli Air Force base is completely reduced to rubble," Coningham wrote in an analysis.

Videos and photos from Nevatim, however, reveal minimal damage to the airbase as fighter jets continue to conduct operations there.

Saturday's massive barrage was historic, in that it marked the first-ever direct attack on Israel from Iranian soil. Prior to this, Tehran had facilitated military action against Israel through its robust network of proxy forces across the Middle East.

The attack came less than two weeks after an Israeli strike on an Iranian diplomatic facility in Syria earlier this month killed several military officials, including two IRGC generals. Tehran vowed revenge, stirring fears across the region as it braced for a potential retaliation. Its response on Saturday was met with widespread international condemnation.

Meanwhile, the Middle East continues to be on edge as it remains to be seen whether Israel will retaliate over the Iranian attack.