How Iron Dome works: details of the Israeli anti-missile system

The recent attacks of Iran towards Israel position themselves as the first time in history where the first actor launches a direct offensive towards the second. .

These were made via drones and missiles which were fired towards Israeli territory.

Previously, had promised an armed response to an attack on their consulate in Damascus, Syria, on April 1. where at least seven deaths among the Revolutionary Guards were recorded.

Although Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s forces have not taken credit for such events, From Iran it was declared that these were responsible for the said attack. .

A similar phenomenon of cross-blaming has occurred between the two territories in recent years. .

and that further intensified after the events of October 7 2023, when Hamas militants staged a direct offensive against Israel, which was met with constant attacks.

Regarding the actions recently claimed by Iran, the spokesperson for the Israeli army, Daniel Hagari, detailed that these involved “more than 300 drones, cruise missiles and ballistic missiles”. according to his statements saved by the BBC .

However, he clarified that Their defense system and the support of their allies allowed them to intercept “the vast majority” . Even before they entered.

In the midst of this complex scenario, one of the points that has been most commented on is the Israeli defensive capacity .

Particularly, with a mechanism known as Iron Dome .

Consists of an anti-missile shield that protects Tel Aviv and other cities, featuring a radar system that detects the direction of rockets in addition to warning of its future impact.

His capacity allows them to be identified within a radius of 4 to 70 kilometers, while responding with Tamir interceptor missile fire which are positioned close to the entrants.

According to information retrieved by CNN in Spanish , Once detected, it sends an alert to the population up to one minute in advance. . In the most critical cases, it may arrive a few seconds earlier.

The areas it protects tend to be strategic spaces and populated areas .

This anti-missile system It is composed of a detection and tracking radar, a weapons control and combat management system and a missile firing unit. .

“The radar detects the launch of a rocket and transmits information about its trajectory to the control center, which calculates the expected point of impact (…) if this location justifies an interception, a missile is fired to intercept The rocket. The payload of the interceptor missile explodes near the rocket, in a location that is not expected to cause injuries “, they explained from the Israeli army, according to the aforementioned media.

To work, Iron Dome uses about 10 batteries, which carry three to four rocket launchers. .

The Israeli Defense Ministry has stated in the past that can respond to multiple attacks simultaneously, with up to 90% success according to the BBC.

To this is added that can operate in different weather conditions and only takes a few hours to move and configure Again.

The Iron Dome Its development began in February 2007 by the company Rafael Advanced Defense System LTD. and the corresponding tests were completed in July 2010 it was therefore considered operational the following year.

Even though it was this Israeli company that was responsible for developing it, The United States also contributed financially to this system.

In May 2010, they approved the granting of a sum of more than 205 million dollars, while in July 2012 —during the administration of Barack Obama— a budget of 70 million was announced to finance the project.

At that time, according to CNN en Español, the former president declared: “This is an essential program to ensure the safety and protection of Israeli families. (…) was examined and prevented missile attacks against Israel » .

Likewise, a report of Congressional Research Service (CRS) reviewed by the aforementioned media details that, Until March 2023, the United States supported Israel with more than $3 billion to finance its operation. of Iron Dome.

With, In 2014, the two governments signed a co-production agreement so that components of the system could be built in the North American country. and authorities had access to the technology involved.