Iron Dome

Israel's battle-proven mobile system that intercepts short-range rockets, artillery shells, mortar bombs and drones — the bottom tier of a multi-layered air defense network and now a growing US capability.

Overview

Iron Dome (Hebrew: Kippat Barzel) is a mobile all-weather short-range air defense (SHORAD) and counter-rocket, artillery and mortar (C-RAM) system developed by Rafael Advanced Defense Systems with Israel Aerospace Industries/ELTA and mPrest Systems. A single battery comprises three to four launchers, each holding 20 Tamir interceptors, a battle management center and an ELM-2084 fire-control radar, and can defend an area of roughly 150 km² against saturation rocket barrages. The system operates as the lowest layer of Israel’s integrated missile-defense architecture, beneath David’s Sling, Arrow-2/Arrow-3 and, in coalition operations, US THAAD and Aegis. Since becoming operational in 2011 it has clocked thousands of combat intercepts and has been exported to the United States (Army and Marine Corps), Azerbaijan, Romania and Cyprus.

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