What are Israel's Iron Dome and Arrow missile defences?

Israel is also developing a laser-based system to neutralise enemy rockets and drones at an estimated cost of just $2 per interception

By Reuters

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People stand on top of the remains of an Iranian missile in the Negev desert near Arad, on October 2, 2024, in the aftermath of an Iranian missile attack on Israel. — AFP

Published: Wed 2 Oct 2024, 3:57 PM

Israel's missile defenses were activated on Tuesday to repel a salvo of Iranian ballistic missiles fired in retaliation for Israel's campaign against Tehran's Hezbollah allies in Lebanon.

Here are details of the multi-layered air defences Israel has been honing since coming under Iraqi Scud salvoes in the 1991 Gulf war.

ARROW

The long-range Arrow-2 and Arrow-3 interceptors, developed by Israel with an Iranian missile threat in mind, are designed to engage threats both in and outside the atmosphere, respectively.

It operates at an altitude that allows for the safe dispersal of any non-conventional warheads.

State-owned Israel Aerospace Industries is the project's main contractor, while Boeing Co is involved in producing the interceptors.

On October 31, Israel's military said it had used the Arrow aerial defence system for the first time since the October 7 outbreak of the war with Hamas to intercept a surface-to-surface missile fired from the area of the Red Sea towards its territory.

Last September, Germany signed a letter of commitment with Israel to buy the Arrow-3 system for nearly four billion euros ($4.2 billion).

DAVID'S SLING

The mid-range David's Sling system is designed to shoot down ballistic missiles fired from 100-200km away.

Developed and manufactured jointly by Israel's state-owned Rafael Advanced Defence Systems and the US RTX Corp, formerly known as Raytheon, David's Sling is also designed to intercept aircraft, drones and cruise missiles.

IRON DOME

The short-range Iron Dome air defence system was built to intercept the kind of rockets fired by the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas in Gaza.

Developed by Rafael Advanced Defence Systems with US backing, it became operational in 2011. Each truck-towed unit fires radar-guided missiles to blow up short-range threats like rockets, mortars and drones in mid-air.

Rafael says it delivered two Iron Dome batteries to the US Army in 2020. Ukraine is seeking a supply as well in its war with Russia, though Israel has so far only provided Kyiv with humanitarian support and civil defences.

A naval version of the Iron Dome to protect ships and sea-based assets was deployed in 2017.

The system determines whether a rocket is on course to hit a populated area; if not, the rocket is ignored and allowed to land harmlessly.

Iron Dome was originally billed as providing city-sized coverage against rockets with ranges of between 4-70km, but experts say this has since been expanded.

LASER-BASED SYSTEM

Israel's interception systems cost between tens of thousands and millions of dollars to shoot down incoming threats. Israel is developing a laser-based system to neutralise enemy rockets and drones at an estimated cost of just $2 per interception.