Major S had carried out hundreds of complex operations during his 10-year stint in the Israeli air force but nothing was as daunting as the one launched against Iran last month.
The air force pilot, flanked by dozens of F-16 fighter jets and refuelling planes, descended into a “dark space” in the Middle East on Oct 26.
The mission had two clear goals: hitting Iran’s air defence systems and ballistic missile production sites.
Guiding his F-16 through Iranian airspace, Major S – like all Israeli fighter pilots – knew he could be shot down or taken as a hostage in enemy territory but did so anyway with “pride”.
Sitting directly behind him, his wingman inserted the targets’ coordinates into the jet’s system as Major S flew the plane and scoured the airspace for any threats.
Major S then pulled the trigger to release the bombs, marking the first major aerial operation against the Islamic Republic in Israel’s history.
As he flew his jet into enemy territory, Major S said he couldn’t help but think about his family and the “millions of Israelis” who had run for shelter during attacks by Hezbollah, Hamas, and the Houthi rebels.
The pilot is unable to disclose which areas were hit in the attack but Iran confirmed that military bases in Tehran, Ilam and Khuzestan were targeted. Strikes were also reported in Karaj, Isfahan, and Shiraz.
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Major S told The Telegraph from the Ramon Air Base in the Negev Desert that the operation was “straightforward,” and that every pilot had fulfilled their mission.
“We train for these, for these situations. You are as mentally prepared as you can be,” he said, adding that the thought of being captured in Iran, Iraq or Syria is “frightening”.
“But I also have a lot of faith in my capabilities and of course, my wingman’s,” he said.
That doesn’t mean the operation came without nerves.
“It’s a lot of time that you’re waiting on the runway,” he explained. “All that you’re doing is fighting the thoughts in your head, thinking about what will happen.”
As Major S explained how he tried to calm his nerves and focus on the mission, a huge roar from a fighter jet a few hundred metres away drowned out the sound of his voice.
The fighter jets take off every 15 minutes or so, some of which head to Gaza and others to the north, which has faced an increasing number of attacks by Iran-backed Hezbollah in recent months.
Given the complexity of the operation, the air force had prepared for mistakes to be made along the way, which could have affected the outcome of the attack.
But its fighters had trained and prepared for long-distance operations like this “for years”, and after a year of the most intense war in Israel’s history, the air force personnel believe they have a major advantage gained from their “tactical” experiences.
“I think that one of the things that really helps was that we have experience from the war. If I think about my operational strikes three years ago in Gaza, I was very excited and tense before taking off,” he said.
Major S explained how the operation against Iran was “by far the most significant” in his decade-long career in the air force.
“It was a very special night, and I’ll always remember it. But the minute I landed, I was already planning my next mission and my next flight,” he said.
And Major S might very well be on his way to Iran again soon, as the Islamic Republic has vowed to retaliate.
Ayatollah Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader, warned last week that Israel and the US would “definitely receive a crushing response to what they are doing to Iran and the Iranian nation and to the resistance front.”
According to Axios, the news outlet, Washington has warned Iran that it “won’t be able to hold Israel back” if Iran launches another attack.
Donald Trump, the US president-elect, has also expressed strong support for Israel, even if he appears frustrated with how long the war has gone on.
In April, he urged Israel: “You’ve got to get it over with, and you have to get back to normalcy.”
But it’s no secret that the regime in Tehran would have preferred Kamala Harris, the Democratic candidate, to win.
Mr Trump’s last stint in office saw him rip up the nuclear deal, kill Qassem Soleimani, an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) chief, and pursue a “maximum pressure” policy that threw Iran’s economy into chaos.
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