Almost all of the ballistic missiles and drones that Iran fired at Israel – in an unprecedented attack late Saturday – were intercepted and missed their target, according to Israeli and US officials. As CNN writes, this highlights the formidable and multi-layered missile defenses being developed by the two alliance partners.

Iran launched more than 300 drones and missiles at Israel, 99% of which were shot down, the Israeli military said. In total, about 170 drones, more than 30 cruise missiles and more than 120 ballistic missiles were fired at Israel by Iran overnight Saturday, the military said.

In a phone call on Sunday, US President Joe Biden told the Israeli prime minister that this was a victory for Israel, as nothing of “value” was affected.

U.S. officials said more than 70 drones and three ballistic missiles were intercepted by U.S. Navy ships and military aircraft, without detailing exactly which defenses were used to shoot down the missiles.

The US Navy shot down at least three ballistic missiles using the Aegis missile defense system, officials said. US warplanes also shot down Iranian munitions. Although it was not disclosed where these US aircraft were operating from, there are US Navy aircraft carriers and long-range land-based aircraft in the area.

Biden said in a statement that the US was well prepared to help defend Israel against an Iranian attack. “In support of Israel’s defense, the US military has deployed anti-missile defense aircraft and destroyers to the region over the past week,” the US president said in a statement.

Britain said it was also ready to intervene, using Royal Air Force aircraft it has in the region. “These British aircraft will intercept any air attack within the range of our existing missions as required”, the Ministry of Defense said in a statement. An Israeli military spokesman also said that France was participating in the interception of Iranian attacks.

“We are working closely with the US, UK and France who acted tonight. This partnership has always been close, but tonight it manifested itself in an unusual way.”the spokesman said.

Meanwhile, Israel has a range of systems to deter attacks from ballistic missiles with trajectories that carry them above the atmosphere, to cruise missiles and low-flying rockets.

The Iron Dome System of Israel has often been in the headlines since the country launched its military offensive on Gaza in response to Hamas attacks inside Israel on October 7, which sparked hostilities in the region.

Iron Dome was created to counter mortars and rockets fired into Israel, at relatively close range, by militants in Gaza and by anti-Israeli militants in Lebanon, who belong to Hezbollah. Its first interception was in April 2011 when it shot down a Grad rocket fired from Gaza at the Israeli city of Ashkelon. Since then it has intercepted thousands of rockets.

When a missile is fired at Israel, the detection and tracking radar detects the incoming trajectory and relays the information to the weapons control system, which performs immediate and complex calculations to detect the missile’s trajectory, speed and expected target.

A control center processes this information and connects to a launcher that launches a missile to destroy the missile. The system is designed to respond only to projectiles that pose threats, particularly in populated centers. The cost of each missile is about $40,000 to $50,000, according to a researcher at Israel’s Institute for National Security Studies. The system is designed to work effectively in all kinds of weather conditions.

The next step in missile defense is ‘David’s Sling” (David’s Sling), which protects against short- and medium-range threats, according to IMDO. Above ‘David’s Sling’ are the systems “Arrow 2” and “Arrow 3” of Israel, developed jointly with the United States.

“Arrow 2” uses fragmentation warheads to destroy incoming ballistic missiles in their final phase — as they dive toward their targets — in the upper atmosphere, according to CSIS. The Arrow 2 has a range of 56 miles and a maximum altitude of 32 miles, according to the Missile Defense Advocacy Alliance, which called the Arrow 2 an upgrade to the American Patriot missile defense systems once used by Israel.

Israel also has state-of-the-art fighter jets, including F-35I stealth jets, which it has used in the past to shoot down drones and cruise missiles, according to reports.