Recent Hamas attacks against Israel have tested Iron Dome’s effectiveness, the Israeli army’s missile defense system. Images circulating on social media show that Tel Aviv’s defense weapon, despite being saturated with thousands of rockets fired by terrorists, is still capable of preventing the deaths of innocent people.
The origin of the Iron Dome
The idea of a missile defense system emerged in the mid1990s during the IsraeliLebanese conflict. On that occasion, the Lebanonbased Shiite Islamic fundamentalist group Hezbollah fired thousands of rockets at Israeli cities.
Danny Gold, then a brigadier general in the Israel Defense Forces, suggested to army leaders the creation of a complex defense system that could intercept missiles fired by terrorists while protecting Israeli civilians.
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However, the Iron Dome concept only gained traction in 2004, when Danny Gold became director of the Israel Defense Forces’ research and development team.
Three years later, in 2007, the dream of a missile defense shield became a reality. With technical and financial support from the United States, Israeli companies Rafael Advanced Defense Systems and Israel Aerospace Industries built Iron Dome. North Americans invested more than $200 million to bring the technology to market.
In 2011, the quality of the Iron Dome was put to the test in response to Hamas bombings against the city of Beer Sheva in southern Israel. The antiaircraft system was successful and was used by the country’s army.
This is how Iron Dome works
The system consists of three essential elements: (1) radar for detecting and tracking enemy missiles; (2) central weapons control and battle management; and (3) missile launch unit, ready to respond to warning signals.
When an enemy missile is detected by radar, the command center receives a warning and calculates the projectile’s trajectory and possible impact point. If the enemy’s target is an inhabited region, the system fires a missile programmed to explode near the projectile deemed penetrating, causing its immediate destruction.
To give you an idea, the speed of the interceptor missile can reach 3,100 kilometers per hour. Iron Dome detects fired missiles within a radius of up to 70 kilometers.
“The radar detects the launch of a missile and transmits information about its trajectory to the control center, which calculates the expected impact point,” explains the Israel Defense Forces. “If this location warrants an intercept, a missile will be fired to intercept the missile. The interceptor missile payload explodes close to the missile, in a location where civilians are unlikely to be harmed.”
According to security analysis group Jane’s International Defense Review (IDR), the missiles are about three meters long, 15 centimeters in diameter and weigh 90 kilograms.
The system is easy to transport and only takes a few hours to set up. The Iron Dome can operate in any weather.
Expensive technology, but invaluable
According to a Congressional Research Service (CRS) report, the United States has so far invested $1.6 billion in maintaining the missile defense system. In 2014, North Americans and Israelis signed a coproduction agreement to allow Iron Dome system components to be manufactured in the United States. The US Missile Defense Agency (MDA) has full access to the technology.
Each Iron Dome unit costs $50 million to produce, and each intercepted missile costs at least $60,000.
However, the high price of the technology is proportional to the effectiveness of the antiaircraft system. According to the Israeli army, the interception rate of competing missiles is 90%.
Efficiency that breeds complacency
Because of the Iron Dome’s efficiency, thousands of Israeli civilians can simply go about their daily activities even after the alarm sounds. A part of the local population is sure that enemy missiles will be intercepted by Iron Dome.
“There is complacency,” reports Yiftah Shapir, missile defense expert and researcher at the Israel Institute for National Security Studies (INSS). “People don’t panic and tend to neglect the alarm. However, no one has promised 100 percent protection.”
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Danny Gold, one of the inventors of the Iron Dome, confirms the risk: There is an increasing tendency for Israelis to go about their daily tasks despite missile warnings. “Defense is a combination of a missile defense system, sirens and intensive intelligence activities,” Gold explained. “There’s no way you can sit at home and do nothing and think that Iron Dome is going to do everything 100% right.”
According to the director of the Israel Defense Forces’ research and development team, he is treated as a hero by citizens. “Saving Israeli lives was the primary intention in creating this system,” Gold said. “I think it’s a huge accomplishment, not just for me, but for the hundreds of people who have worked on Iron Dome over the years.”
Iron Dome, the new Israeli superhero
The gratitude of the local population to the creators of the missile defense system can be observed in reality. Recently, Singer, songwriter and model Sarai Givaty Luboschits posted a drawing of a new Israeli superhero on social media, which emerged amid the fighting against Hamas. This is the Iron Dome.
The figure bears the blue and white colors of the Israeli flag and the Star of David, a symbol of Judaism and its followers. The name Star of David comes from the Hebrew Magen Davi, literally “Shield of David”. According to Jewish tradition, the soldiers of King David, one of the main characters in the Old Testament, wore the hexagram on their shields to gain divine protection.
According to Sarai, the idea of creating a new Israeli superhero came from a need to explain the history of the conflict between Israel and Hamas to her children. “I told the kids that we have a superhero named Iron Dome who takes care of all of us and intercepts the villains’ missiles in the air,” the model explained. “Every time they hear a bang, the children know that the antiaircraft system has actually managed to intercept the enemy missiles. Then her smile returns.”
The work was produced by two illustrators named Yehuda Devir and Maya Devir. After hearing from Sarai the story she told her children, the artists decided to create Iron Dome. According to the illustrators and model, the new superhero is a symbol of strength, victory and heroism for the Children of Israel.
StandWithUs, one of the largest proIsrael organizations in the world, posted the image of Iron Dome on social media. “Introducing a new Israeli superhero: Iron Dome, the protector of Israel. We love it! #IronDome10,” the post reads. The country’s new hero symbol has even received an official Instagram account.