It seems the days when flying over Iran was a walk in the park are over. Over the past 24 hours, two US military aircraft and two Black Hawk helicopters, which were involved in search efforts, were struck by Iran. While it does not mean that Iran is anywhere close to an equal military footing with the US, what it does is puncture US President Donald Trump's claims of complete dominance over Tehran's skies. On Friday, the sky came falling for Trump. But how did Iran, with its depleted air defence, manage to target such sophisticated warplanes?
The answer is Iran's mastery over asymmetric warfare, using unconventional methods to take the US by surprise. Despite the war now being in its second month, the US still seems to be unaware of Iran's googlies. After shooting down a US F-15E Strike Eagle fighter jet on Friday, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) credited a new, advanced defence system. Hours later, two Black Hawk helicopters, which were involved in search efforts for the F-15 crew, were also hit, but they made it out of Iranian airspace. A second US jet, an A-10 Warthog aircraft, also crashed over Kuwait.
The developments come as a major battlefield setback for the US. It is the first time in more than 20 years that American fighter jets have been shot down by enemy fire. The last time that a US warplane was shot down during active combat was in Iraq during the 2003 invasion.
Crucially, it underlines Iran's continued ability to strike back despite repeated assertions by Trump and his aides of "complete control" over Iran's skies and Tehran having "no anti-aircraft systems".
"We literally have planes flying over Tehran and other parts of their country... They can't do a thing about it," Trump said on March 24. A week later, Iran showed Trump and the world the reality.
HOW DID IRAN TAKE DOWN US JETS?
While Iran has not revealed what took down the US jets, analysts believe it could be the Majid infrared air defence system or shoulder-fired missiles, which are harder to detect. The two US warplanes shot down by Iran were likely operating at lower altitudes, making them easy targets for these weapons.
In fact, the Majid system, a surface-to-air missile platform, is also believed to be behind the March 19 hit on the US F-35, America's most advanced stealth fighter aircraft.
THE MAJID AIR DEFENCE SYSTEM
Why is it so lethal? The Majid system, which Iran started using as recently as 2021, is for defence against low-flying aircraft. What is important to note here is that it doesn't rely on radar. Instead, it uses passive infrared detection combined with a proximity fuse.
As it doesn't emit radar signals, it becomes significantly harder for aircraft to detect before a missile is fired at it. Its range is up to 8 km in distance and up to 6 km in altitude. Thus, it is highly possible that the US jets were operating within this range.
Its detection capabilities hold the key. The infrared sensors have a range of up to 15 km. It is integrated with an external Kashef-99 phased-array system, which extends tracking capability to 30 km. This also allows multiple targets to be monitored simultaneously. The Majid system can carry up to eight ready-to-fire missiles.
Since the missiles use passive infrared guidance rather than radar, it becomes difficult for detection by aircraft warning receivers. This explains how a highly sophisticated aircraft like the F-35 was likely targeted. Moreover, the enormous amount of heat generated by the F-35 is its Achilles' heel. We had analysed in March how Iran could have struck the F-35.
The Majid system is believed to have destroyed multiple US and Israeli high-value UAVs, most notably MQ-9 and Heron drones, since the start of the war on February 28.
"A disabled air defence system is not a destroyed one. We shouldn't be surprised they are still fighting," Behnam Ben Taleblu, director of the Iran program at the Foundation for Defence of Democracies, told AP.
SHIFT TO MOBILE LAUNCHERS
One of the biggest shifts that Iran has made in its strategy is structural. After the brief 12-day war last year, Iran moved away from fixed air defence installations.
According to geopolitical analyst Shaiel Ben-Ephraim, most of Iran's air defence systems are now hidden in underground "missile cities", tunnels and rugged coastal terrain.
In fact, according to US intel, half of Iran's missile launchers are still intact despite the daily strikes on its military targets by the US and Israel, CNN reported. Previously, Israel suggested that Iran had roughly 20-25% of its missile launchers left.
But it seems to have been unaware of the thousands of projectiles buried in secret caves and tunnels.
Iran has also invested in mobile surface-to-air missile launchers. These can quickly change positions, making them harder to detect and destroy. It is basically "shoot-and-scoot" tactics - fire and relocate before these launchers can be targeted.
Earlier this year, leaked Russian government documents indicated that Iran had signed a deal to procure 500 Verba man-portable short-range surface-to-air missile launchers. These are regarded as the world's most capable man-portable air defence systems, capable of detecting targets amid background heat sources.
Ben-Ephraim, in his analysis based on his conversation with a former Israeli Air Force (IAF) commander, also suggested that Iran could be using the Chinese HQ-9B, a highly advanced long-range missile system.
This system has both radar and infrared guidance, making it better equipped to counter stealth aircraft like the F-35 and resist electronic jamming.
Thus, a combination of these factors is what has transformed Iran's airspace, at least in central Iran, into a death trap for enemy aircraft. The latest strikes have clearly shown that achieving air superiority over Iran is no longer guaranteed.
