The operation that stunned the world

2026-03-06 - 21:38

Over the past month, the IDF kept a secret known to only a handful of senior officials: the looming operation in Iran would look nothing like its predecessor, Operation Rising Lion. "Even in the Israeli Air Force, those who knew about the strike plan against Iran, which was named Operation Shield of Judah, did not really know it would be carried out in full cooperation with the US," a security source said. "Most pilots assumed it would be an Israeli operation and that the Americans might join at some stage, as they did last time. But in reality, a small number in the air force already knew about a month before H-hour that we were going to attack together with the Americans, truly shoulder to shoulder." Coalition warfare is routine for the US military. For Israel, however, it had never happened before. Operation Roaring Lion, known in the US as Epic Fury, marks the first time the IDF has fought in complete operational synchronization with another military, in this case the most powerful one in the world. Now it is a secret the entire world knows. "There is no doubt that there is very close coordination between Israel and the US in the attack on Iran," said Col. (ret.) Joe Buccino, former spokesman for US Central Command, known as CENTCOM. "It is no coincidence that Israeli officers sit in CENTCOM headquarters in Tampa, Florida." IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Dan Caine. Photo: IDF Spokesperson's Unit In Israel, some officials describe the relationship in even more enthusiastic terms. "We are at an unprecedented point of operational coordination," said a senior defense establishment official. "Absolutely," added an officer participating in the operation. "What we are seeing now is different from anything we have seen before." Another Israeli official familiar with the Americans described the relationship as something like a love story: togetherness. In the IDF, it is referred to as "a joint, parallel synchronized campaign." In dozens of war rooms across Israel and the US, Israeli and American officers now sit before the same systems and lean over the same maps, combining forces. "We are one, they are one, together we are 11," Israeli Air Force commander Maj. Gen. Tomer Bar told the Diplomatic-Security Cabinet this week. Israeli Air Force commander Maj. Gen. Tomer Bar. Photo: IDF Spokesperson's Unit "You have to understand," said a former senior IDF officer who spent much of his career working with American counterparts. "Our cooperation with the Americans goes far beyond operational matters. "It rests on very deep relationships built over many years. Israeli and American officers grow together throughout their careers. It is not a defense minister who serves two or three years, not even a president who serves eight years. These are people who have been in each other's homes, who know each other's spouses and children. I would not exaggerate if I said the DNA of Israeli pilots is closer to that of their American counterparts than to that of IDF armored corps officers. These are systems that grow together." Not every location in Israel is currently hosting this cooperation. The American headquarters in Kiryat Gat has been evacuated out of concern it could become an easy target for Iranian attacks. As a result, humanitarian aid to Gaza that had been managed from that headquarters was also halted this week. After Operation Rising Lion in June 2025, the Israeli Air Force initially prepared to launch another strike against Iran about a year later, around June 2026. However, intelligence indicating that the ayatollah regime was investing enormous sums to rebuild damaged military systems, including its nuclear program, prompted the IDF to accelerate its plans. Despite Iran's historic economic crisis, the regime was continuing to transfer billions of dollars and weapons to its proxy organizations, intelligence showed. "The regime has not abandoned its plans to destroy Israel," IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir said this week. Even before protests erupted in Iran in late December 2025, the Israeli Air Force had already concluded that an attack could not wait until June 2026 and that preparations for another air operation should begin as soon as possible, with or without the Americans. While Israel accelerated its preparations, Washington moved more slowly. The turning point came during Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's meeting with President Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago, where Netanyahu sought to draw Trump into another round of action against Iran. Netanyahu's requests coincided with protests erupting in Tehran, leading the president to promise the Iranian people that "help is on the way." Earlier, an Israeli Air Force delegation headed by a brigadier general had been sent to CENTCOM headquarters in Tampa. Their goal was to develop a shared operational language with American counterparts in preparation for the possibility of another Israeli strike requiring coordination. At the time, neither side knew the operation would eventually become joint. Action over Iran. Photo: IDF Spokesperson's Unit In late January, after Trump began shifting the direction of US policy toward Iran, Maj. Gen. Shlomi Binder, head of the IDF Military Intelligence Directorate, landed in Washington as the first sign of the emerging joint Israeli-American military move. A few days later, Zamir himself made a lightning visit to the US capital accompanied by incoming Israeli Air Force commander Brig. Gen. Omer Tishler, former IDF military attaché to Washington Maj. Gen. Hedi Silberman, Brig. Gen. Amit Adler, head of the IDF's international cooperation division, and a senior intelligence representative. The delegation spent less than 24 hours in Washington, most of it in marathon meetings. Tishler was later appointed by Zamir to coordinate between the IDF and the US Joint Chiefs of Staff. Shortly after Zamir's visit, senior air force officials sensed that the US president had effectively ordered preparations for a US strike against Iran alongside Israel. From that moment, both sides opened their intelligence, plans and operational playbooks to one another. "We learned how to plan together, merge operational cultures and view the enemy from the same angle," said a participant in the discussions. As planning accelerated, the Israeli Air Force expanded its delegation in Tampa while using the time to replenish its ammunition stockpiles and carry out maintenance on aircraft that had been flying continuously for two and a half years. Meanwhile, the US began moving additional aircraft and weapons to the Middle East. Among them were fifth-generation F-22 fighter jets and massive refueling aircraft deployed to Israel, assets that would prove critical to Israel's ability to strike Iran. Those aircraft would later launch operational sorties from Israel toward Iranian targets. The closely guarded secret of the US joining the operation was revealed to most Israeli Air Force personnel only in recent days. From that point on, approval of the attack plans was conducted jointly by Bar and Lt. Gen. Derek France, commander of AFCENT, the air component of CENTCOM. Such synchronization between air forces had never occurred before, not even when US B-2 bombers struck the Fordo nuclear facility during Operation Rising Lion. At that time, US aircraft had requested that Israeli jets clear the path to Fordo after destroying nearby Iranian air defense systems. This time, Israelis and Americans sat together around the same maps to approve plans and launch the operation. They divided missions, prepared joint intelligence packages and allocated sectors. During the process, each side also learned from the other. The US adopted the Israeli Air Force's "train" method of sending waves of fighter jets toward Tehran, first used during Operation Rising Lion. Chief of Staff Zamir described it as "a joint and deeply integrated battle procedure" hours after the opening strike of Operation Roaring Lion. The opening blow exceeded expectations According to several sources who spoke with Israel Hayom, the elimination of Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and other initial moves were, in their words, a "blue-and-white operation through and through." The first strikes were carried out by Israeli pilots, and only about 40 minutes later did US missiles begin striking Iranian targets. Israeli officials say the results of the opening strike were "phenomenal," surpassing expectations. In the next phase, the two air forces divided geographic sectors, each attacking ballistic missile launchers to reduce fire toward Israel and Gulf states. Israel focused on western and central Iran, while the US targeted eastern and northern areas. Both militaries struck Tehran. At the same time, each prioritized targets aligned with its own interests. For example, the US concentrated major efforts around the Gulf of Oman, destroying 11 warships belonging to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps within two days. The ships had threatened to block the Strait of Hormuz, something the White House was determined to prevent. Opening strike in Iran. Photo: AFP The Israeli Air Force took on most of the mission of achieving air superiority, building on experience gained during Operation Rising Lion. For months beforehand, Israeli planners had tried to determine how Iran might adapt its air defenses following the earlier operation. "We changed the method because we wanted to surprise them," said a source familiar with the planning. While it took 36 hours to achieve air superiority during the previous operation, this time it was accomplished in just over 24 hours. Although Israeli aircraft operated independently in attacking many targets, they occasionally relied on American capabilities. In some cases, Israeli intelligence identified targets but US aircraft carried out the strike because the plan required specialized long-range munitions that the Americans possess in large quantities. The most significant assistance from the US, however, came in aerial refueling. Israel has relatively few tanker aircraft, while the Americans have many times more. As part of the cooperation, US tanker aircraft, including nine KC-46 refueling planes that recently arrived in Israel, served as airborne fuel stations for Israeli fighter jets, easing the biggest logistical bottleneck in long-range air operations against Iran. A video circulating online shows an American tanker refueling Israeli F-15s during a combat mission. The American refueling capability is one reason for the high tempo of Israeli air force operations in the current campaign. During the entire 12 days of Operation Rising Lion, the Israeli Air Force used 3,700 munitions. In Operation Roaring Lion, 2,500 had already been dropped after just three days. During Rising Lion, Israeli aircraft flew about 1,500 fighter sorties. In the current operation, they reached two-thirds of that number within the first 72 hours. And that does not include American sorties and weapons. An F-15 fighter jet moments before a bombing sortie over Iran. Photo: IDF Spokesperson's Unit "We started with a blitz, as strong as possible," said an Israeli official involved in the operation. "Only after three days did we begin shifting to cruise mode." Information sharing and coordination between the IDF and CENTCOM is not new. During earlier missile exchanges with Iran and during Operation Rising Lion, the two militaries coordinated a complex regional air defense network spanning the skies of the Middle East and involving Arab and European countries. This time, however, the defensive system has been paired with a massive offensive punch. "What is happening here operationally is unprecedented," said Brig. Gen. (res.) Eran Ortal, head of the military studies program at the Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies and author of the book The War Before. "The Middle East is now divided into flight corridors, air control units are managing a shared aerial picture, and everything in the sky is coordinated in real time: fighter jet trains flying in and out from different directions, refueling circles over the region and synchronized air defense systems. Normally when armies fight in a coalition there is something called deconfliction. "What we are seeing now goes much deeper than deconfliction. This is real integration. Two different militaries operating in the same space as one. It is a very impressive event." Several former military officials pointed to Gen. Michael Kurilla, the former commander of CENTCOM, as the architect of Israeli-American cooperation. "Kurilla elevated regional cooperation with the IDF to an art form," one former senior officer said. "He had great leadership that made this possible." Gen. Michael Kurilla. Photo: AP Kurilla, it turns out, has visited Israel several times since retiring in August 2025. The cooperation between Israel and the US does not stop in the air. Another area approaching near symbiosis is intelligence. "I do not know of a closer security relationship than the one between Israel's Military Intelligence Directorate and the US National Security Agency," said a former senior figure in the security community. "No one can, or wants to, hide information from the other side. The coordination with the Americans rests first and foremost on intelligence cooperation." One major difference remains between the IDF and CENTCOM: public messaging. While the Israeli military regularly briefs the public and media, often highlighting its achievements in Iran, the Americans have taken the opposite approach. In the first two days of fighting, CENTCOM released almost no information about US actions, aside from a few videos showing Tomahawk missiles launched from warships. In one statement, CENTCOM commander Adm. Brad Cooper said, "The president ordered bold action, and our brave soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines and Coast Guardsmen are answering the call." Only after two days did CENTCOM begin releasing videos of strikes on Iranian targets to US media outlets eager for visuals. By the fourth day of the war, its X account had adopted a somewhat more "Israeli-style" tone, announcing the destruction of the Revolutionary Guards' naval fleet in the Gulf of Oman: "Two days ago they had 11 ships. Today they have zero." Brig. Gen. (res.) Assaf Orion, a former head of the IDF Strategic Planning Division and now a senior researcher at the Institute for National Security Studies, noted the contrast. "We mainly hear about Israeli attacks and see far fewer reports about what the US is doing," he said. "Yet in terms of capability, the American scale of attack is far larger. Their spokesperson appears to follow a different policy. While we count targets and munitions, the US stays quiet." That silence does not mean the Americans are inactive. They have been striking Revolutionary Guards command systems, air defense assets, missile and drone launch sites and airports, using cruise missiles, loitering drones and fighter aircraft. In total, the US has concentrated roughly 250 fighter jets in the region, some operating from regional bases and others from two aircraft carriers deployed in the Persian Gulf and the Mediterranean. The US has also deployed its massive B-2 bombers earlier than expected, the same aircraft that struck Fordo. They have attacked ballistic missile facilities that only their bunker-busting bombs can penetrate. Combined with American ammunition stockpiles far larger than Israel's, the result is enormous firepower. It is likely that Iranians looking skyward are doing so in fear. The aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford sails near the Strait of Gibraltar. Photo: Reuters The combination of Israeli intelligence and ingenuity with American firepower is something no country would want directed against it. The key question now is how far President Trump is willing to go with this cooperation and when he might decide to apply the brakes, as he did during Operation Rising Lion. "Even if there are still nuances between Israel's and the US' war aims, Trump's statements greatly narrow those differences," Ortal said. "He has said he intends to strip Iran of all its military capabilities, leaving them with nothing. That is a very high minimum threshold that reduces the gap between the two countries." Another factor strengthens Washington's hand. On March 1, the day after the surprise attack on Iran, the US assumed the rotating presidency of the United Nations Security Council. From that position, Trump can delay almost any request for debate over US actions in Iran without even needing to use the veto power. "Last time the US pulled us back," said a reservist in Israeli Air Force intelligence. "This time, it is pushing us forward."