The Israeli Air Force has released details and footage of one of its most daring and complex operations in which 120 special forces raided and destroyed an underground Iranian missile factory in Syria in September.

At the time, Bashar al-Assad’s regime was still in power in Syria, and Israel had not yet begun its war campaign against Hezbollah in Lebanon.

The raid – dubbed internally by the Israel Defense Forces “Operation Many Ways” – was aimed at destroying an underground facility used by Iranian forces to manufacture precision missiles for Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Assad regime in Syria.

The facility, military codenamed “Deep Layer,” was located deep underground in a mountain at the Center for Scientific Studies and Research, known as CERS or SSRC, in Syria’s Masyaf region, west of Hama. The site is more than 200 kilometers north of the Israeli border and about 45 kilometers from Syria’s west coast.

The IDF described the facility as a “flagship project” of Iran in its effort to arm Hezbollah.

The army said the raid was successfully carried out by the IAF’s elite Shaldag unit, along with the 669 search and rescue unit.

The revelation of the raid comes weeks after the fall of the Assad regime, which was a close ally of Iran. Assad allowed Iran to use Syria to build and deliver weapons to Hezbollah.

The Iranian establishment

Iran began planning the “Deep Layer” facility in 2017, following an Israeli airstrike that same year on CERS, according to the military.

The previous above-ground production site had been used to supply Hezbollah with many of the missiles it would eventually launch into Israel after October 7, 2023.

The destruction of that site, as well as other IDF strikes in Syria targeting weapons shipments to Hezbollah, led Iran to rethink its strategy, according to the military, and create a new underground facility that would be safe from Israeli blows.

The site Iran built was 70-130 meters underground and therefore almost impossible to destroy from the air.

Excavation of the mountain at the research center began in late 2017. The IDF said it had information about the facility since construction began.

By 2021, Iran had completed excavation and construction work and began bringing in equipment for mass-produced missiles. Over the next few years, equipment continued to be delivered and production line tests were conducted.

The facility was built in a horseshoe shape, with an entrance into the mountainside for raw materials and an exit for the missiles. A third entrance adjacent to these two was used for logistics and to access offices within the facility. The office department was also connected to the manufacturing department inside.

Along the petal were at least 16 rooms that housed the production line for the rockets.

The facility was not yet fully operational when Israel began its operation to destroy it, but according to the military, it was in the final stages of being declared operational by Iran. At least two rockets had been successfully built in tests, and rocket engines were already being mass-produced.

The IDF estimated that the facility would manufacture between 100 and 300 missiles annually, including long-range missiles of up to 300 kilometers, precision-guided missiles with ranges of up to 130 kilometers, and short-range rockets with ranges of 40-70 kilometers.

According to IDF estimates, the facility, located relatively close to the Lebanese border, was intended to replace Iran’s way of transporting missiles and components from its own territory to Lebanon via Syria. Such missions have been repeatedly hit by the IAF over the years. The distance the weapons would have to travel from the new facility to reach Hezbollah would be much shorter.

The timing of the raid

On the evening of September 8, 100 members of Shaldag and another 20 members of Unit 669 boarded four CH-53 “Yasur” transport helicopters and took off from an air base in Israel for Syria.

They were joined by two other attack helicopters to provide close air support, 21 fighter jets, five drones and 14 spy planes and other aircraft. Another 30 aircraft were waiting in Israel on standby in case something did not go according to plan.

The six helicopters flew over the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of Lebanon, before crossing into Syria over its own coastline. The helicopters flew unusually low to avoid Syrian radars and air defense systems.

At the time, the Masyaf area had the second largest concentration of air defenses in Syria, surpassed only by Damascus, according to the IDF, with dozens of radars and defense systems that could detect and engage Israeli aircraft. Some of these radars had been damaged in previous IAF strikes in Syria and had not been repaired by 8 September.

At the same time, Russian forces maintained a significant military presence on the Syrian coast, with their own air defense systems.

It took just 18 minutes for the helicopters to fly from shore to the facility. At the same time, IAF fighter jets and drones along with Navy ships launched a large wave of raids targeting both CERS facilities and other sites in Syria. The strikes were intended to cover the approach of the helicopters and fool the Syrian army into believing that this was a routine Israeli attack of the hundreds that had been carried out over the years.

Israel

The first of the CH-53 ‘Yasur’ helicopters landed near the entrance, dropping off several Shaldag commandos, while two other helicopters simultaneously landed at another location in the area overlooking the science center. The fourth helicopter waited back for several minutes before landing where the first had landed, dropping off additional troops.

The four helicopters then flew away to other locations in the area, where they landed and waited for over two hours for the 100 commandos to carry out their mission.

The 20 members of Unit 669, still aboard the helicopters, were to take action if any of the commandos were injured. The plan was to treat any wounded soldiers, but not leave until the end of the mission. Unit 669 therefore brought along additional medical equipment to act as a makeshift hospital in case of injury.

At the facility, a first group of commandos began securing the area while a second group advanced towards the entrance, killing two guards. Another group formed on a nearby hill, from which he flew a small drone to monitor the raid and eliminate anyone approaching the facility.

Israel

At night, Syrian soldiers locked the three entrances to the facility and guarded the perimeter. The IDF said there were fewer guards at the site than there would have been if the facility was already active and no one was inside when the raid took place.

50 minutes into the mission, the first commando team managed to break through one of the entrances — the one used for logistics — and reach the offices. The soldiers entered the site and reached the two production entrances – the horseshoe – opening them using forklifts located inside the premises. The IDF knew in advance that the facility had such equipment and had sent some of the commandos involved in the raid to obtain forklift certification.

At the same time, another group of commandos carrying explosives arrived at the entrances. The soldiers had brought a quad bike with them on one of the helicopters so they could move quickly to and through the facility to plant the explosives.

Israel

About 50 commandos then moved along the facility’s production line, attaching bombs to all the equipment, and especially to the three mixers. The other 50 waited outside and continued to keep the area clear by sweeping it and firing at threatening elements.

At the same time, fighter jets continued to pound the surrounding area to prevent dozens of people spotted on the ground, apparently Syrian soldiers, from approaching. In total, 49 munitions were used by IAF aircraft during the raid.

After the commandos had set all the explosives – about 300 kilograms – in a remote detonator placed at the entrance to the site, they evacuated to the original landing site. The helicopters flew from their waiting positions, picking up the soldiers after two and a half hours on the ground.

As they boarded, the lead explosives specialist of the Shaldag unit detonated the bombs, causing an explosion estimated to be the equivalent of one ton of explosives.
Soldiers involved in the operation said the underground explosion was not only visible but could also be felt, like “a small earthquake”.

The helicopters then flew away from the facility back to the sea and then to Israel. Some of their equipment was left behind.

Hundreds of Syrian soldiers arrived at CERS about an hour after the troops withdrew, according to the military.

The IDF estimates that they killed around 30 guards and Syrian soldiers during the entire operation. Syrian media reported 14 dead and 43 wounded.