Speaking at the Space and Missile Defense Conference in Huntsville, Alabama, U.S. Army procurement official Daryl Youngman confirmed the purchase of two Iron Dome systems to fulfill its interim rocket and cruise missile defense requirements. According to reports, the United States will spend $373 million to acquire the two batteries, pursuant to a fiscal 2019...
On February 6, the U.S. Army announced its plan to purchase several Israeli Iron Dome air defense systems to fulfill a short-term need for indirect fire defense. In an official statement, the U.S. Army said that the system would “protect deployed U.S. military service members against a wide variety of indirect fire threats and aerial...
On January 22, the Missile Defense Agency (MDA) and the Israel Missile Defense Organization (IMDO) successfully tested Israel’s Arrow 3 Weapon System in collaboration with the Israeli Air Force from a test site in central Israel. Neither the MDA press release nor Israeli reports mention the specifications of the target “long-range” ballistic missile, but Israel’s...
The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) has deployed more Iron Dome defense systems in central and southern Israel, according to an IDF announcement on June 15. The deployment follows significant clashes between Israel and Hamas militants over the past weekend. After Palestinian protests on Friday, during which an IDF officer was injured, Israeli Air Forces bombed Hamas...
On July 5, the Israeli Ministry of Defense announced that three Israeli defense firms successfully tested the Iron Dome, Magic Wand, and Arrow 3 missile defense systems near Tel Aviv this past week. According to The Times of Israel, the MoD stated that the tests were “designed to ‘counter emerging threats in the region.’” The...
On June 27, Israel’s Iron Dome defense system intercepted three missiles launched by Hamas from the Gaza Strip. Hamas launched more than twelve missiles in retaliation for Israeli attacks “on a car that the [Israeli] army said belonged to a senior Hamas operative involved in the airborne arson attacks…and two Hamas outposts in the north of the...
On Tuesday, Iron Dome batteries intercepted rockets fired from the Gaza Strip toward Ashkelon. While no groups claimed responsibility for the rocket launch, Israeli forces attacked Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip in response. Tension between Hamas and Israeli forces have intensified within the past week, following protests in response to President Trump’s announcement recognizing...
The Naval Iron Dome system, first tested in May 2016, completed its final round of testing on Monday. The successful test, in which Grad rockets were fired both individually and in barrages, resulted in the system being declared fully operational by the Israeli Defense Forces. The “Iron Dome of the Sea” was a multi-year joint...
On October 6, a senior Raytheon official announced the successful intercept of an unmanned aircraft system (UAS) by a Stinger missile mounted on a Stryker combat vehicle during a SHORAD demonstration at White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico. Attempting to fill the Army’s capability gap in Europe for mobile short range air defenses (SHORAD),...
On September 18, Israel’s Air Force reported that its Air Defense Division had established a second Iron Dome battalion to defend against aerial threats in Israel’s northern theater. “Israel’s northern theatre has always been the most threatened area,” Brig. Gen. Zvika Haimovich, Commander of the Aerial Defense Division said in a press release. “The theater...
