Military|Operations
Operation Opera was Israel’s 1981 airstrike on Iraq’s Osirak nuclear reactor, preemptively neutralizing a perceived existential threat before it was operational.
On June 7, 1981, Israeli F-16 fighter jets carried out Operation Opera, a daring preemptive airstrike that destroyed Iraq’s Osirak nuclear reactor near Baghdad. The operation was launched amid growing fears that Saddam Hussein was developing nuclear weapons that could one day be used against Israel.
Planning began months earlier, under the direction of Prime Minister Menachem Begin and with support from Defense Minister Ariel Sharon. Israeli intelligence tracked French and Italian technicians working on the Osirak reactor, which was ostensibly for civilian purposes but widely believed to be capable of producing weapons-grade plutonium.
The mission required flying undetected over hostile airspace, including Jordan and Saudi Arabia. Eight F-16s, accompanied by six F-15s for escort, flew at low altitude to evade radar. They reached the target, dropped precision bombs, and destroyed the reactor in under two minutes.
The strike was condemned by the United Nations and several Western allies, but later hailed as a bold act of self-defense. American officials privately acknowledged that the operation had delayed Saddam’s nuclear ambitions by at least a decade.
Operation Opera set a precedent for Israeli doctrine on preemptive action against existential threats, later influencing thinking on Iran’s nuclear program. It remains one of the most successful long-range air raids in military history.
IAF Debrief Reports, Begin Center, U.S. Congressional Hearings
