The Iran-Israel air conflict presents an unprecedented success story for air and missile defense and highlights the use of these defenses to save lives, protect property, and reduce pressures on policymakers.
"With tensions spiking in the Middle East, U.S. forces in the region are facing increasing threats as a Navy warship shot down missiles appearing to head toward Israel Thursday and American bases in Iraq and Syria were repeatedly targeted by drone attacks."
The Iron Dome system is capable and combat proven, but it does not match the U.S. Army’s needs. After several years of experimenting, it's time to move on.
On April 14, Israeli leaders said that Israel’s new laser missile-defense system, called the Iron Beam, effectively intercepted mortars, rockets and anti-tank missiles in recent tests. Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said that the system’s “interceptions are silent, they’re invisible and they [the interceptions] only cost around $3.50” each. In comparison, each interception using Israel’s...
On February 21, Israel completed the first series of live-fire tests of its C-Dome air defense system. According to the Israel Defense Force, the tests “simulated a number of advanced threats including rocket fire, cruise missiles & UAVs, which the ‘C-Dome’ is designed to successfully intercept.” The C-Dome is a naval version of Israel’s Iron...
On August 23, Israel’s Ministry of Defense announced successful flight tests of the Iron Dome missile defense system with the United States. The test took place at White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico and demonstrated the first of two Iron Dome batteries configured for U.S. Army service under the Interim Fire Protection Capability (IFPC)...
On May 10, Hamas and its allies began launching rocket salvos against Israel after clashes over Israeli land seizures in East Jerusalem and wider Palestinian displacement. Militants in Gaza launched 3,000 rockets toward Israel, half of which were likely to fall in populated areas. Israeli authorities have claimed that its Iron Dome rocket defense system...
On February 26, Israel completed development of a ground-launched variant of the I-Derby ER air-to-air missile. In a press release, Israeli contractor Rafael stated it conducted a series of flight tests in southern Israel earlier in the week. The I-Derby ER is a radar-guided air-to-air missile with an estimated range of 100 km. The surface-to-air...
On February 18, the Israel Missile Defense Organization (IMDO) announced it was developing a new ballistic missile interceptor, the Arrow 4, with the United States’ Missile Defense Agency (MDA). In a statement, Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz announced that the Arrow 4 will operate in the “endo-exoatmospheric” regime and complement existing Arrow 2 and –3...
