How Israel Could Strike Iran
To paraphrase Mr. Rogers: "Look for the Tankers."
Everybody wants to talk about Israel "striking" Iran, but what would that actually mean and what would it look like?
The truth of the matter is that any strikes would need to be supported by airborne refueling or "tanker" aircraft.
An F-35 does not have the fuel capacity to reach Iran and return without tanker support and Israel only has 7 modified Boeing 707 tankers (similar in capacity to the American KC-135).
Also note that strikes are further hampered by the fact that at any given time, roughly 70% of a squadron's aircraft are down for maintenance. However, Israel could theoretically strike Iran with 20 F-35 aircraft and 5 tankers. This video shows how it could be done.
The spreadsheet is available here.
The World Air Forces Handbook is available below. Note that Israel no longer flies the F-16C model as of this year, but they are still on the books.
The IDF have cruise missiles with a 1500km range. Could they not use sub launched conventionally armed cruise missiles to attack an alternative target; say the oil export facilities on Kharg Island? They could launch these from inside Israeli territory; with the aircraft launched version or the SLCM version. Just saying…
Love your videos btw and I have ponied for subs since YT keep demonetising you.
Keep up the great work! Greetings from Melbourne Australia 🇦🇺
1) Tankers shown arec-10s not KC-135s/C707'2
2) There is buddy tanking - fighters with drop tanks refuel other fighters , so Israel is not as limited as Ryan thinks
"A "buddy store" or "buddy pod" is an external pod loaded on an aircraft hardpoint that contains a hose and drogue system (HDU). Buddy stores allow fighter / bomber aircraft to be reconfigured for "buddy tanking" other aircraft. This allows an air combat force without dedicated/specialized tanker support (for instance, a carrier air wing) to extend the range of its strike aircraft. In other cases, using the buddy store method allows a carrier-based aircraft to take-off with a heavier than usual load less fuel than might be necessary for its tasking. The aircraft would then topped-up with fuel from an HDU-equipped "buddy" tanker, a method previously used by the Royal Navy in operating its Supermarine Scimitar, de Havilland Sea Vixen, and Blackburn Buccaneers; in the Buccaneer's case using a bomb-bay-mounted tank and HDU."