The country has multiple systems to defend against attacks, including the Iron Dome and interceptors developed in collaboration with the United States. After Iran launched an unprecedented attack on Israel with drones and missiles on Saturday evening (04/13), attention turned to Israel. air defense systems. According to the Israeli military, around 200 offensive weapons, including drones and missiles, have been launched from Iran towards Israel.
Early Sunday morning, the Israeli military said it had intercepted the “vast majority” of the missiles and drones. The country has a wide range of air defense systems.
Discover the main systems below.
Arrow
The system developed jointly with the United States is designed to intercept long-range missiles, including the types of ballistic missiles that Iran said it launched on Saturday. The Arrow is also currently used to intercept long-range missiles launched by Houthi militants from Yemen.
It is not intended to intercept military aircraft or artillery rockets. The first Arrow battery went into operation in October 2000. The development program for the Arrow family of systems is estimated to have cost more than $2 billion, of which between 50% and 80% was funded by the United States .
David’s slingshot
Also developed in collaboration with the United States, David’s Sling was designed to intercept medium-range ballistic missiles, such as those used by the Lebanese Hizbolá group, enemy aircraft, drones, tactical ballistic missiles, medium- and long-range rockets and missiles . . cruise.
The interceptor system is a two-stage missile, with two targeting and guidance systems.
David’s slingshot went live in April 2017. The name is a reference to the biblical story of David and Goliath. Each unit costs about $1 million.
Patriot
This American-made system is the oldest of the Israeli missile defense systems.
It was used during the First Gulf War in 1991 to intercept Soviet-made Scud ballistic missiles launched by Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein against targets in Tel Aviv and Haifa. Currently, the Patriot is used to shoot down aircraft, including drones.
The system, which went into operation around the world in the 1980s, is also used by several US-allied countries, including Germany, which recently transferred one of its batteries to Ukraine. A Patriot missile battery can have six to eight missile launch systems and costs about $1 billion.
Iron dome
Israel’s most famous defense system, the Iron Dome, was developed by Israel with extensive financial support from the United States. It specializes in shooting down short-range rockets, such as those typically launched by Hamas from the Gaza Strip. Israel claims its success rate is more than 90%.
Responsibility for the development of the Iron Dome fell on Israeli companies, in particular Rafael Defense Systems, which started the project in 2007, according to official information. The system’s first test fire occurred in April 2011. At the time, Hamas had violently bombed southern Israel for an entire week.
Each unit consists of three launch pads, a radar and firing software. If a rocket is launched, the radar recognizes what type it is and whether it is heading towards inhabited territory, communicating this information to the launch unit, which launches a defense missile. Thus, the enemy projectile is destroyed in the air, as videos of the Israeli Armed Forces repeatedly show.
The ten systems currently operating in Israel are mobile and can be moved as needed. According to the Israeli Ministry of Defense, the success rate is around 90%: it can also be used in rainy or foggy conditions and can launch missiles at distances between 4 and 70 kilometers.
Last week, Israel used a naval variant of the Iron Dome, called C-Dome, for the first time to shoot down a drone approaching the Red Sea, triggering sirens in the port city of Eilat. This system, installed on naval ships, entered into operation in 2022.
Between 2011 and 2021, the United States contributed approximately $1.6 billion to Iron Dome improvements.
According to the Israelis, recently, during the war between Israel and Hamas, the Iron Dome intercepted hundreds of Hamas rockets.
Iron beam
Israel is developing a new system to intercept potential threats using laser technology. The Israeli government claims that this system will be a game changer because it is much cheaper to operate than existing systems. However, it is not yet operational.
jps (DW, AP, ots)
Source: Terra
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