Israel releases photos of its nuclear-capable F-15I Ra’am fighter jets after Iranian attack

@DefAviation ES 4·14·2024 · 21:31 0

Israel is a country that takes great care of the communication policy of its Defense Forces (IDF). These do not leave any detail to chance.

The Israeli Prime Minister's statement regarding Iran's attack on Israel
The armament of the air forces of Israel and Iran for a war between the two countries

Yesterday Iran launched a massive attack against Israel, in the middle of the night and taking advantage of the last hours of the Sabbath, the Jewish holiday. The Iranian attack was indiscriminate and sought to sow terror among the Israeli population, as shown by the weapons numbers used during that operation, communicated by IDF spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Peter Lerner: 180 explosive drones, 120 ballistic missiles and 30 cruise missiles.

At this time it must be said that the Iranian attack has been a resounding failure both in its objectives and in its geopolitical balance. The Israeli Air Force, with the help of the air forces of the United States, United Kingdom, Jordan and Saudi Arabia, they managed to shoot down 99% of the Iranian drones and missiles: there has not been a single death in Israel. In any other country, an attack of this magnitude would have caused a massacre. Israel has been preparing for such an attack for many years and its defenses have worked spectacularly.

Internationally, Iran has only managed to further isolate itself with this attack and demonstrate to the world that it is a threat to peace, in case some were not already clear enough. The fact that two Muslim countries such as Jordan and Saudi Arabia have contributed to stopping the Iranian attack indicates the extent to which the Islamic world itself reacts against the Iranian threat.

On the part of Israel, after the Iranian attack the IDF website, their Telegram channel, their Instagram profile and their Facebook page, they have published some very revealing photos that seem to include a message between the lines. Some photos are not current but they still serve to convey that message. Let's take a look at those images to see what they show and what they want to convey:

The IDF has published these two images on Facebook and Instagram. They are not new. What we see above is a David Honda long-range surface-to-air missile launcher, which is one of the valuable air defenses against ballistic missiles that Israel was able to use last night. In the image above a message has been added asking for support for the Air Force. It is a way of showing how well defended Israel is and the reason why many citizens of that country have been able to face this difficult night with some peace of mind.

Below we see David launching a Honda missile. It is not a photo from this year, but it serves to send the same message: Israel is well defended.

The IDF has also published a couple of photos of its F-35I stealth fighters They are surely not photos from the last few hours, but they show one of the most valuable assets of the Israeli Air Force. Israel could attack Iran with these planes without Iranian defenses being able to detect them. Tehran will have understood very well what it means to show off these F-35Is.

In this photo we see an Israeli aviator on board his fighter. He wears a patch of 109 Squadron, equipped with two-seat F-16D fighters.

For the rest, and as you can see in the following series of photos, the IDF has published quite a few images of its F-15I Ra'am, the Israeli variant of the F-15E Strike Eagle.

In these first two images we see F-15I with Python-5 short-range air-to-air missiles, the most modern variant of this Israeli weaponry. It is a weapon to shoot down airplanes. The plane is F-15I 271, from Squadron 69 "Hammers", based in Hatzerim, one of the bases attacked by Iran last night.

The following F-15I carries a combination of different air-to-air missiles: a Python-5 (left) and an AIM-9M Sidewinder (right), both short range, and a missile is also seen medium-range AIM-7 Sparrow on one of the fuselage supports.

Below these lines, another F-15I with air-to-air missiles: two AIM-7 Sparrow on the fuselage supports and a Python-5 under the wing.

Below, another F-15I with air-to-air missiles and something else. In addition to the air-to-air missile configuration that we have seen in previous photos, we see a Rafael Litening III target designator on the port fuselage support. This designator, manufactured in Israel, can be used for day and night attacks, as well as for reconnaissance missions. Additionally, on the starboard fuselage support we see a smaller designator, the LANTIRN, used to attack ground targets at night at low altitude. Under the starboard wing we see an external fuel tank. This aircraft, F-15I 215, is also from Squadron 69 "Hammers".

Below, an F-15I with the same configuration as in the previous photo.

Another F-15I with air-to-air weapons configuration and the aforementioned target designators. The aircraft in the image is F-15I 246, also from 69 Squadron "Hammers".

And one more F-15I also with air-to-air missiles. Fans of the F-15 (I count myself among them) are celebrating today with the photos published by Israel.

A FOD walk at an Israeli base, with an F-15I in the background. These walks are done daily at all air bases to clear the runways of any foreign objects that could enter an engine.

I don't think it's a coincidence that Israel has published so many photos of this type of plane. The F-15I Ra'am is one of Israel's two combat aircraft capable of carrying nuclear weapons. The other is the F-16I Sufa. Below these lines, the F-15I 267 of 69 Squadron "Hammers".

The IDF has not limited itself to publishing photos of the F-15Is in air-to-air configuration. Here we see an F-15I with 230 kg IMI MPR500 bombs on the supports located behind the additional fuel tanks on both sides of the fuselage. It is a bomb that can penetrate up to 1 meter of reinforced concrete, ideal for attacking an air base (destroying aircraft hangars) and other protected facilities, such as, for example, a power plant nuclear. Surely in Tehran they will have already noticed this detail.

Another image of an MPR500 bomb, ready to be attached to a fighter.