Two B-2 bombers are confirmed airborne, officially “on a training flight.”

Realistically, Iran’s only hope of regaining control of its skies would be outside help from Russia or China, plus blanket jamming of GPS, Starlink, and every other electronic link, along with a reliable stock of medium-range, heat-seeking missiles. Radar-guided air-defense systems are almost useless; the Israelis simply overwhelm them with sophisticated electronic countermeasures. What Iran really needs is a larger cousin of the Osa tactical air-defense system - one that can guide missiles by optical and infrared seekers up to at least twelve kilometers high, preferably fifteen. Oddly, none of the 358-type loitering missiles have shown up, despite their success in northern Yemen.

Iran could rebuild a point-defense network, but even that would remain highly vulnerable to stand-off weapons fired from dozens of kilometers away and guided in by drones. The deeper problem is that Israeli moles appear to know every defensive layout, forcing Iran to reorganize under fire - a near-impossible task without operational breathing room. For now, the only viable strategy is to lie low and wait for Israel to start running short on munitions and spare parts as the tempo of air operations grounds more of its aircraft.