Iron Dome
Iron Dome (Hebrew: כִּפַּת בַּרְזֶל, romanized: Kippat Barzel) is an Israeli mobile all-weather air defense system, developed by Rafael Advanced Defense Systems and Israel Aerospace Industries. The system is designed to intercept and destroy short-range rockets and artillery shells fired from distances of 4 to 70 kilometres (2–43 mi) away and whose trajectory would take them to an Israeli populated area. From 2011 to 2021, the United States contributed a total of US$1.6 billion to the Iron Dome defense system, with another US$1 billion approved by the US Congress in 2022.
| Iron Dome | |
|---|---|
Iron Dome launches interceptor, 2021 | |
| Type | C-RAM and short range air defence system |
| Place of origin | Israel |
| Service history | |
| In service | 2011–present |
| Used by | Israel Defense Forces |
| Wars |
|
| Production history | |
| Designer |
|
| Designed | 2005 |
| Manufacturer |
|
| Unit cost | $50 million per battery $100,000–150,000 per interception |
| Produced | 2011–present |
| No. built | 10 batteries deployed (planned deployment is 15) |
| Specifications | |
| Mass | 90 kg (200 lb) |
| Length | 3 m (9 ft 10 in) |
| Diameter | 160 mm (6.3 in) |
Detonation mechanism | Proximity fuze |
| Maximum speed | Mach 2.2 |
Launch platform | Three/four launchers, each carrying 20 interceptors. |
Iron Dome was declared operational and initially deployed on 27 March 2011 near Beersheba. On 7 April 2011, the system successfully intercepted a rocket launched from Gaza for the first time. On 10 March 2012, The Jerusalem Post reported that the system shot down 90% of rockets launched from Gaza that would have landed in populated areas. In late 2012, Israel said that it hoped to increase the range of Iron Dome's interceptions, from a maximum of 70 to 250 kilometres (43–155 mi) and make it more versatile so that it could intercept rockets coming from two directions simultaneously.
In November 2012, official statements indicated that it had intercepted over 400 rockets. By late October 2014, the Iron Dome systems had intercepted over 1,200 rockets. In addition to their land-based deployment, it was reported in 2017 that Iron Dome batteries would in future be deployed at sea on Sa'ar 6-class corvettes, to protect off-shore gas platforms in conjunction with Israel's Barak 8 missile system.