An Israeli reservist pilot has described the ‘endless explosions’ in the sky as he shot down Iranian missiles and drones launched towards his home country over the weekend, and how he was back in his office sending emails by 4pm.
The pilot, identified only as ‘Major G,’ said the air force taking the projectiles out of the sky was ‘like Top Gun meets Star Wars‘ in an interview on Tuesday.
Iran launched more than 300 missiles and drones at Israel on Saturday in response to an apparent Israeli strike on Iran’s embassy compound in Syria on April 1 that killed 12 people, including two Iranian generals.
As the bombs hurtled towards Israel, the country’s air force scrambled its jets to intercept them. With help from its allies the UK, US, France and Jordan – and British and American fighter jets – Israel downed 99 percent of them.
Speaking to The Telegraph, Major G called it ‘the most complex mission of my life’.
An Israeli reservist pilot has described the ‘endless explosions’ in the sky as he shot down Iranian missiles and drones launched towards his home country over the weekend, and how he was back in his office sending emails by 4pm
Israel scrambled fighter jets and – with the help of allies including the UK and the US – was able to intercept 99 percent of the more than 300 missiles launched by Iran
This handout picture released by the Israeli Army on April 14, 2024 shows an Israeli Air Force fighter aircraft at an undisclosed airfield reportedly after a mission to intercept the missiles
A map shows where some of the missiles were intercepted, and where the few that got through Israel’s defences stuck – including one which injured a seven-year-old girl
‘It really was a different thing with hundreds of those UAVs and missiles in the air getting intercepted around you, like Top Gun meets Star Wars, endless explosions and interceptions going on around you,’ he told the newspaper.
‘It was the most complicated mission I’ve done in 20 years in the air force, knowing that if there is a missed target, maybe it blows up in Israel,’ he said.
The Major praised the ‘amazing coalition’ with the UK, US and other allied forces and their response to a ‘very aggressive’ Iranian attack.
He said the type of attack had perhaps not been seen in modern warfare, and said of the Israeli response: ‘You’re seeing absolute defence in action.’
RAF Typhoons shot down several targets and helped allied pilots track other missiles and drones as they shot towards Israeli targets.
Israel would later say that 99 percent of the Iranian projectiles had been successfully intercepted.
There were no fatalities, but a seven-year-old girl was injured by falling shrapnel.
According to The Telegraph, Major G has 3,000 flying hours under his belt.
Nevertheless, hunting low-flying cruise missiles is still a dangerous endeavour.
‘It’s always harder to find and take down these targets in the night. They’re flying really low and so you fly low too but you’re unable to see the ground,’ he told the publication, explaining that pilots must rely on sensors.
Other things on the ground, such as street lights, feel very close, he said, which gives a ‘very uncomfortable feeling,’ even for the most experienced pilots.
A photo released by the Israeli air force after the mission to intercept the jets shows two pilots congratulating each other, after successfully blocking 99 percent of the missiles
An engineer is seen working on an Israeli fighter jet
A graphic released by the IDF shows the interception rate
He said he could see missiles being ‘blown up’ while flying at a low altitude in the dark, with projectiles exploding on his fighter jet’s nose.
While there was no risk of his own plane being fired at (the missiles had been launched from hundreds of miles away), the main concern – he said – was missing one of the Iranian projectiles and hitting Jerusalem, Tel Aviv or other Israeli towns.
‘There’s no second chance,’ he told The Telegraph.
Major G said that he was at home with his wife and children when the call came in to scramble the jets to defend Israel from the incoming salvo.
He told The Telegraph that he always had a grab bag ready to go, and that – with it not being the first time he was called into action – his family are familiar with the situation.
‘It happens every now and then, but nothing as extreme as last Saturday,’ he added.
By day, Major G is a lawyer. He said he was back in the office by 4pm on Sunday ‘shooting off emails’. Others in his squadron are teachers or engineers.
It is a complicated double life being a reservist pilot, he said, telling the newspaper that one minute he can be risking his life ‘shooting down drones somewhere in the Middle East’, and the next he’s back to his normal day-to-day.
Tensions have ramped up in the region since the start of the latest Israel-Hamas war on October 7, when Hamas and Islamic Jihad, militant groups backed by Iran, carried out a cross-border terror attack that killed 1,200 people and kidnapped 250 others.
Israel responded with an offensive in Gaza that has caused widespread devastation and killed over 33,800 people, according to local health officials.
Since October 7, Major G said he has undertaken many missions, but none as dangerous as the interceptions over the weekend.
Despite this, he said, the outcome ‘exceeded expectations,’ he said.
With Israel threatening to respond to Iran’s blitz, and with Iran in turn saying it will retaliate to any Israeli counteroffensive, there are fears that the Middle East could boil over into a full-blown regional conflict.
A kamikaze drone is launched in an undisclosed area in Iran as the country launched more than 300 missiles and drones towards Israel
Israel’s military displays what they say is an Iranian ballistic missile which they retrieved from the Dead Sea after Iran launched drones and missiles towards Israel, at Julis military base, in southern Israel April 16
Calls from Israel’s western allies for calm appear to be falling of deaf ears.
Speaking to broadcasters in Jerusalem, Britain’s Lord Cameron said: ‘It is right to have shown solidarity with Israel. It is right to have made our views clear about what should happen next, but it is clear the Israelis are making the decision to act.
‘We hope they do so in a way that does as little to escalate this as possible and in a way that, as I said yesterday, is smart as well as tough.
‘But the real need is to refocus back on Hamas, back on the hostages, back on getting the aid in, back on getting a pause in the conflict in Gaza,’ he added.
He also said that more should be done to sanction Iran following its attack.
‘We want to see coordinated sanctions against Iran,’ he continued.
‘Britain has in many ways led the way with our new sanctions regime, sanctioning dozens of people in Iran, sanctioning the IRGC (Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps) in its entirety, and I think there is more that we can do to show a united front, that Iran is behind so much of the malign activity in this region, backing Hamas, backing Hezbollah, backing the Houthis.
‘They need to be given a clear and unequivocal message by the G7 and I hope that will happen at the weekend.’
In talks with Netanyahu on Tuesday, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak also called for ‘calm’ and warned that ‘significant escalation will only deepen instability in the region’. He added: ‘This is a moment for calm heads to prevail.’
However, Israel has said it will hit back and its war cabinet was meeting on Wednesday to discuss options.
Drones or missiles vying for targets at undisclosed locations in northern Israel on April 14
This handout picture released by the Israeli Army shows the head of the military, Lieutenant General Herzi Halevi (centre), attending early on April 14, 2024 a meeting at the Israeli Air Force Operations Center in Kirya in Tel Aviv
Meanwhile, Iran’s president Ebrahim Raisi warned during an annual army parade that the ‘tiniest invasion’ by Israel would bring a ‘massive and harsh’ response, as the region braces for potential Israeli retaliation.
His comments came after Iranian Parliament’s National Security Committee Abolfazl Amoue stated that Iran is ‘prepared to use a weapon that we have never used’ if Israel responds further to Tehran’s weekend attack.
Speaking on Monday, he said Israel should consider its next steps and ‘act wisely.’
Iran said on Wednesday its military was ready to confront any attack by Israel, with the air force saying it was prepared for action.
Iran’s navy commander said also that it was escorting Iranian commercial vessels to the Red Sea.
‘Any attack by the Zionist regime (Israel) on our soil will be dealt with a severe response,’ Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi said on Wednesday at a parade held for Army Day, state media reported.
The commander of the Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force warned at the same event that its warplanes, including Russian-made Sukhoi-24s, were in their ‘best state of preparedness’ to counter any Israeli attack.
‘We have full readiness in all fields, including our air coverage and bombers, and are prepared for any operation,’ Brigadier General Amir Vahedi said.
An Israeli air force F-15 warplane is seen before landing in an airbase in central Israel, April 15
A direct attack on Revolutionary Guards bases or nuclear research facilities within Iran is one of the options Israel has to strike back. Targets outside of Iran are also a possibility.
Admiral Shahram Irani said the Iran Navy was escorting Iranian commercial ships to the Red Sea, according to the semi-official Tasnim news agency.
‘The Navy is carrying out a mission to escort Iranian commercial ships to the Red Sea and our Jamaran frigate is present in the Gulf of Aden in this view,’ Irani said.
Tehran was ready to escort vessels of other countries, he added.
The Red Sea has seen significant disruption to Israel-bound shipping due to attacks from Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis.
