The Perfect Air War

A full year has passed since the Twelve-Day War against Iran, known as “Am K’lavie” (“Rising Lion”), almost without us noticing. The relentless intensity of life in Israel has a way of compressing time. Since then, there have already been another war and a half with Iran—“Roar of the Lion” and the Seventeen-Hour War—not to mention the Lebanon ceasefire conflict and nearly three years of fighting in Gaza.

The war of June 2025 has already become history.

Yet for anyone looking for a moment of reassurance amid the reality of unending conflict, it is worth revisiting the “Am K’lavie” campaign. It was a war that unfolded almost exactly as military planners would have drawn it up in their most optimistic scenarios. It achieved its military objectives (the political consequences of the war are beyond the scope of this article), and it concluded without losses among the combat forces.

From a military perspective, it was a dream campaign.

So extraordinary was the operation—so many years in preparation, so much ingenuity and audacity invested in its design, and so precise its execution—that it deserves to be examined on its own merits, free from political or historical context.

The most prominent element of its success was, of course, the performance of the Israeli Air Force, particularly during the opening strike.

In what will likely be remembered as one of the boldest, most sophisticated, and most effective air operations in the history of modern warfare, the Israeli Air Force launched a large-scale opening assault against targets deep inside Iran. The operation effectively paralyzed significant portions of Iran’s air-defense network eliminated senior military commanders, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps leaders, and key nuclear scientists, and struck major elements of the country’s ballistic missile infrastructure.

The attack relied upon an unprecedented level of cooperation between the Israeli Air Force, the Military Intelligence Directorate (AMAN), the Mossad, and other components of Israel’s security establishment. Together, they succeeded in combining complete strategic surprise, brilliant execution, and tactical and strategic results that fundamentally altered the battlefield.

From a historical perspective, the operation shattered a psychological barrier that had been the subject of debate within both Israel’s military and political leadership for decades.

The Israeli Air Force demonstrated that it was capable of conducting large-scale offensive operations in the heart of a hostile nation located approximately 1,500 kilometers from Israel and emerging from those operations with complete air superiority.

Just as Operation Focus in the Six-Day War effectively decided the outcome of that conflict during its first three hours by securing control of the skies, the opening strike against Iran paved the way for almost unrestricted operations throughout Iranian airspace and enabled attacks against strategic targets—including nuclear facilities—according to Israeli operational priorities.

In effect, an aerial highway was established between Israel and Iran.

Throughout the campaign, approximately 1,400 fighter aircraft sorties and an additional 500 sorties by remotely piloted aircraft were conducted. More than 900 targets were attacked, over 1,500 strategic components were struck, 15 enemy aircraft were destroyed, six airfields were attacked, and more than 80 surface-to-air missile launchers were neutralized.

The execution of the campaign required extraordinary creativity and operational complexity.

The operation involved far more than fighter aircraft alone. Aerial refueling tankers played a critical role, conducting approximately 600 refueling missions throughout the war. Unmanned aerial systems were also deeply integrated into the campaign.

Intricate timing requirements, unfamiliar flight routes—according to foreign reports, some passing through Syrian airspace with Damascus’s consent—and countless other operational elements formed part of the complex architecture that made the campaign possible.

Until the ceasefire took effect, the Israeli Air Force maintained complete control of the skies over western Iran.

Neither Iran’s surface-to-air missile batteries nor the Iranian Air Force posed a meaningful threat to Israeli operations. The handful of Iranian fighter aircraft that did become airborne never seriously challenged the IAF’s forces.

The technological superiority of Israel’s F-15I Ra’am, F-16I Sufa, and particularly the F-35I Adir—which in many respects proved to be the true game changer of the campaign—was demonstrated beyond question.

Yet more than any aircraft or technology, it was the people of the Israeli Air Force who made the difference.

The pilots, aircrews, maintenance personnel, intelligence specialists, planners, technicians, and the entire operational support structure displayed a level of professionalism, determination, and courage that ultimately proved decisive.

Technology provided the tools.

Operational excellence turned those tools into victory.

One year later, amid the continuing turbulence of the region, the “Am K’lavie” war stands as a rare example of a military campaign that achieved almost everything it set out to accomplish. It was not merely a successful operation. It was a demonstration of what becomes possible when years of preparation, intelligence superiority, technological innovation, and operational mastery converge at precisely the right moment.

For military historians, it will likely remain a case study for decades.

For those who participated in it, it was the culmination of years of preparation.

And for Israel, it remains a reminder that even in an era of complex and evolving threats, decisive military achievements are still possible.