The WSJ reports that Iran’s “missile cities” have become a strategic liability. Constant drone monitoring and neutralized air defenses have allowed the US and Israel to slash Iranian launches by 86%.The Islamic Republic’s “missile cities” strategy, once seen as a significant advantage in case of an armed conflict, has become its biggest weakness during the current conflict with Israel and the US, as what used to be a mobile platform difficult to target now became a predictable target easy to locate, The Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday.
According to the report, the US and Israel entered a phase in their operations -called Operation Epic Fury and Operation they prepare launchers.With Iran’s air defenses almost neutralized, Israel and the US are now reportedly using drones to monitor a dozen known underground missile facilities and only deploy manned fighter jets to destroy the launchers once activity is detected near their exits.
“What was once mobile and difficult to find is no longer mobile, and easier to hit,” Sam Lair, a research associate at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies, told the WSJ.
The report also notes that, even if most facilities are almost completely underground, they have aboveground buildings, roads, and entrances that make them visible in satellite photos.
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