The world watched on its screens and Israelis watched live in the skies above them. Almost every single one of the hundreds of drones and missiles that Iran’s fundamentalist regime fired at Israel on Saturday night were intercepted, thanks to Israel’s allies and the innovation for which the country has been renowned for decades.
Israel’s air defenses today are multi-tiered – providing layers of protection that are an overwhelmingly successful answer to the threat from terror groups, enemy states and their proxies in the region.
So how does it work?
Iron Dome (Hebrew: Kipat Barzel)
Perhaps the most famous component of Israel’s air defense system, the Iron Dome protects against short-range missiles and other airborne attacks, and has been extremely active in the past six months, bringing down airstrikes launched by Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Iron Dome batteries are mobile and placed within civilian areas (the “whoosh” of the system deploying can be heard during attacks by those in the vicinity) and activated when an attack begins.
The system, which was first brought into operation in 2011, uses radar to detect a missile attack on Israel, sending to a command center all information about the trajectory and speed of the projectiles that were fired.
The computers in the command center then calculate where the incoming missile is expected to strike, and personnel decide whether to intercept based on the threat to areas that are populated or of strategic importance.
If the missile is predicted to land in an open area, no interception is required. However, if the missile is expected to strike a populated area, the warhead-laden interceptors are launched to neutralize the threat in the air.
The system has a successful interception rate of around 90 percent.
The defense system was developed jointly by the state-owned Rafael Advanced Defense Systems and Israel Aerospace Industries, with assistance from the United State.
The system reportedly costs around $50,000 per interception from a launcher’s battery of 20, although the complete system (radar, computer and three or four launchers) is believed to run to $100 million apiece.
David’s Sling (Hebrew: Kela David)
This medium-to-long range missile defense system first became operational in 2017, jointly developed by Rafael and the privately owned US defense contractor Raytheon (RTX).
Formerly known as Magic Wand (Sharvit Ksamim), the system is designed to intercept projectiles such as cruise and ballistic missiles as well as drones.
Unlike Iron Dome, the system has no warhead, instead striking its target directly to intercept it. The defense system works in two stages, first identifying and tracking the incoming strike and then targeting it.
The David’s Sling missiles (called stunners) are launched almost vertically and have a steering system at the front and the rear, as well as an onboard radar system and multiple sensors to track the attacking missile. The stunners also use radar on the ground to help guide them.
Each David’s Sling battery consists of 12 stunners. The batteries are stationary, but are believed to be able to defend the entirety of the State of Israel, with a range of 250 km.
Each stunner costs a reported $1 million to produce. Like Iron Dome, its success rate is said to be over 90 percent.
Arrow (Hebrew: Hetz)
The Arrow (versions 2 and 3) anti-ballistic missiles are Israel’s long-range defense mechanism, and considered among the most effective missile defense systems in the world.
Both versions of the Arrow use hypersonic speed (more than five times the speed of sound) – although the Arrow 3 is lighter, allowing it to travel faster and higher and for a longer range.
The Arrow 2 destroys its targets in the upper atmosphere while the Arrow 3 can intercept missiles beyond the Earth’s atmosphere, but both are designed to strike an incoming projectile before it begins to descend.
The Arrow works by identifying, tracking and intercepting long-range missiles by directly colliding with them. The Arrow 2 also uses fragmentation warheads, which splinter as they explode, sending fragments in multiple directions.
The system, which unlike the David’s Sling is mobile and can be launched from the back of a truck, became operational in 2000, and was developed by Israel Aerospace Industries alongside the US Missile Defense Agency.
Each Arrow missile is said to cost $3.5 million.
Iron Beam (Hebrew: Keren Barzel)
An experimental technology that is still officially in development although it is expected to be operational in the near future.
The mobile system consists of two pivoting laser guns, a surveillance system to track the incoming projectile and a control center staffed by personnel who issue commands to the system.
The laser gun creates a high-energy beam that can bring down missiles, mortars and drones at a reported maximum range of 10 km. The laser heats its target to incredibly high temperatures very quickly, rendering it obsolete.
While the system is still not operational, Israel says it will be massively less expensive than the existing costly tiers in Israel’s missile defense system, with unlimited interceptions and requiring less operators and maintenance.
However, its critics say that the system would struggle to function in cloudy weather, and because the beam requires several seconds to heat the target, it would struggle to stay locked on a fast-moving object. Furthermore, a heat-resistant coating could also thwart its effectiveness.
The system was also created by Rafael, and, according to Israel, an interception by Iron Beam would cost just $2, compared to the tens of thousands of dollars spent on each Iron Dome launch.
Related posts
Editors’ & Readers’ Choice: 10 Favorite NoCamels Articles
Forward Facing: What Does The Future Hold For Israeli High-Tech?
Impact Innovation: Israeli Startups That Could Shape Our Future
Facebook comments