Israeli Missile Defense At Risk Of Collapse In Coming Days; Missiles Can Last Just 10-12 Days Says Report

18th June 2025 at 2:20 PM

1 minute read

A long war of attrition between Israel and Iran may not be sustainable for Tel Aviv, according to a new report by The Washington Post, which highlights mounting costs and dwindling interceptor supplies as critical vulnerabilities in "Israel’s" air defense network.

New Delhi : A long war of attrition between Israel and Iran may not be sustainable for Tel Aviv, according to a new report by The Washington Post, which highlights mounting costs and dwindling interceptor supplies as critical vulnerabilities in “Israel’s” air defense network. The report, published Monday, cites assessments from US and Israeli intelligence officials indicating that without urgent resupply or direct US military intervention, Israel may only be able to sustain its current level of missile defense.

The Israeli layered air defense system consists of several high-performance missiles, such as the Arrow line of interceptors and the David’s Sling missiles, as well as cheaper Iron Dome/Tamir missiles optimized for taking down rocket artillery. A sign of strain on air defense capabilities appeared on Tuesday morning as an attempt to thwart an Iranian attack on a site belonging to the Israeli Military Intelligence Directorate (Aman) failed. It’s like shooting a 9-millimeter pistol at a freight train, said Israeli strategic analyst Efraim Inbar, describing the mismatch between cheaper, widely deployed Iron Dome interceptors and the supersonic ballistic missiles used by Iran.

The Washington Post report adds that US officials are closely monitoring the pace of Iran’s strikes and the strain on Israeli systems. As Iranian salvos continue, Israeli commanders are increasingly forced to make difficult decisions about which targets to protect, a scenario that could soon expose strategic infrastructure and population centers to successful hits. Israel is running low on defensive “Arrow” missile interceptors, the Wall Street Journal reports, citing an unnamed US official, raising concerns about the country’s ability to counter long-range ballistic missiles from Iran.

There has been no Israeli confirmation of the report, and no indication from Israel of any shortage of interceptors. Iranian missiles fired at Israel in recent days have been intercepted, at similar rates to Iran’s attacks in 2024, according to the IDF. The military said yesterday that some 40% of Iran’s ballistic missile launchers have been destroyed so far in the operation.