Hamas and other Palestinian militant groups have fired more than 4,500 rockets into Israel since Saturday’s deadly attack, according to the Israel Defense Forces. Most of these missiles were intercepted by Israel’s Iron Dome missile defense system.
The rocket fire triggered air raid sirens in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. They have also raised concerns about flight safety at Ben Gurion International Airport.
Iron Dome technology, declared operational in 2011, has had a success rate of about 90-97% in recent years, according to the IDF. Israeli officials have not indicated how successful it has been since Hamas launched its deadly incursion from Gaza over the weekend. Hundreds of people have been killed since the surprise attack.
This is how the Iron Dome works
Iron Dome, developed by Israeli company Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, uses radar, advanced tracking technology and missile defense batteries to track the trajectory of incoming rockets and mortars. The technology determines whether missiles are aimed at a populated area, and if so, Iron Dome is used to fire Tamir interceptors at the incoming projectiles. Missiles that do not pose a threat are allowed to hit empty areas.
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Iron Dome has an intercept range of 2.5 to 43 miles. The interceptors cost up to $100,000 each. Some cost estimates are lower, with the Institute for National Security Studies reporting in 2021 that an interceptor missile costs about $40,000 to $50,000.
This image shows a battery of Israel’s Iron Dome air defense system in the southern city of Ashdod on May 12, 2023. JACK GUEZ/AFP via Getty Images
Israel has at least 10 Iron Dome batteries across the country. Each one is supposed to defend a 60 square mile populated area. The batteries can be moved as the threat changes.
Each battery has three launchers, each loaded with up to 20 Tamir interceptor missiles, according to Raytheon, a U.S. defense contractor that makes some components of the Iron Dome’s interceptor missiles.
According to the Israeli Air Force, the system destroyed 85 percent of rockets that targeted Israeli cities and towns during the severe conflict between Israel and Hamas in 2012. The success rate has increased – Israel’s Defense Ministry said Iron Dome successfully intercepted 97 percent of all rocket targets it struck during a summer 2022 confrontation in which the Palestinian Islamic Jihad fired rockets at Israel.
Why was Iron Dome created?
Israel’s brigade. According to the Israel Defense Forces, General Daniel Gold first came up with the idea for Iron Dome in 2004. The Israeli military began developing the Iron Dome in response to Hezbollah rocket attacks during the 2006 Lebanon War. The development cost $210 million.
Didi Ya’ari, then CEO of Rafael, the leading Israeli manufacturer of the system, told “60 Minutes” in 2013 that Iron Dome was a game-changer because it allowed the Israeli economy to continue functioning in times of conflict.
“People go to work. Ports work. Cars drive, trains drive. Nothing lasts. And yet there are circumstances.” [that] “In the past this would have been considered a full war,” Ya’ari said at the time.
America’s Role in Iron Dome
Although the system was developed in Israel, it was partially funded with hundreds of millions of dollars from the United States. The US expressed interest in becoming a manufacturing partner and in 2014 Congress called for sharing and co-production of Iron Dome technology with the US
According to a March report, in March 2014, the U.S. and Israeli governments signed a co-production agreement that allows Iron Dome components to be manufactured in the United States while granting the U.S. full access to Iron Dome technology previously proprietary to the Congressional Research Service .
Military contractor Raytheon is Rafael’s US partner in the co-production of Iron Dome. Interceptor parts are manufactured at Raytheon’s missile and defense facility in Tucson, Arizona, and elsewhere and then assembled in Israel.
To date, the U.S. has provided nearly $3 billion to Israel for Iron Dome batteries, interceptors, co-production costs and general maintenance, according to a March Congressional Research Service report. In 2021, the House of Representatives passed a bill allocating $1 billion for the defense system.
A senior US defense official spoke about the Iron Dome system during a briefing on Monday.
“Let me just say at this point: We are capable of fulfilling any request made to us by our Israeli colleagues,” the official said. “And one of those areas, of course, is the ongoing discussion about the air defense needs that they have.”
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