Israel trains to raid Iran but capacities in doubt

By Dan Williams

TEL AVIV (Reuters) - Israel has spent years training for a possible bombing run against Iranian nuclear sites but its air force may be too small to finish the job alone, officials and independent experts said on Saturday.

Citing unidentified Pentagon sources, the New York Times said on Friday that more than 100 Israeli F-16 and F-15 jets took part in a long-range Mediterranean exercise this month that appeared to be practice for real sorties over Iran.

Israel did not confirm that the reported exercise had taken place. But officials said such drills have been commonplace at least since 2005, when air force chief Dan Halutz became overall military commander with a mandate to enhance preparations for any confrontation with the Jewish state's arch-foes.

"We are talking about regular 'large-package' maneuvers involving scores of aircraft, which are clearly aimed at Iran, given the scale and distances involved," said one official.

For now, Israel has said it backs U.S.-led efforts to rein in Iran through sanctions. But like the United States, it has hinted at military force should diplomacy be deemed a dead end.

Officials, who declined to be identified given the censorship around Israel's strategic capabilities, said the air force would be unlikely to deliver more than a one-time blow to an Iranian nuclear program, which international experts believe may require as many as 1,000 strikes to be destroyed.

"A hundred warplanes are enough for a raid but they do not make for an air campaign, and that is what is needed to deal conclusively with Iran's capabilities," an official said.

"Israel wants to go it alone against Iran as a last resort only."