An incoming attack by Iranian drones and ballistic missiles poses the latest challenge to Israel’s air defense system, which already has been working overtime to cope with incoming rocket, drone and missile attacks throughout the six-month war against Hamas.
Quick Read
- Iran’s Drone and Ballistic Missile Attack: An Iranian attack with drones and ballistic missiles challenges Israel’s sophisticated air-defense system, which includes multiple layers designed to counter various threats. These systems have been actively employed against numerous attacks during the ongoing six-month conflict with Hamas.
- The Arrow: Developed with the U.S., this system targets long-range missiles outside the atmosphere. It has been used against long-range missiles from Yemen’s Houthi militants in the current conflict.
- David’s Sling: This system, also a U.S. collaboration, is designed to intercept medium-range missiles, such as those from Hezbollah in Lebanon.
- Patriot: An older American system that first saw use in the 1991 Gulf War to intercept Iraqi Scud missiles. It now targets aircraft and drones.
- Iron Dome: Known for its high success rate of over 90%, this system, supported by the U.S., is optimized for short-range rockets and has intercepted thousands during recent conflicts with Hamas and Hezbollah.
- Iron Beam: A developing defense using laser technology to intercept threats cheaply and effectively, though it is not yet operational.
The Associated Press has the story:
Israel deployed a multilayered air-defense system. It faces big test with Iranian drone strike
Newslooks- JERUSALEM (AP) —
An incoming attack by Iranian drones and ballistic missiles poses the latest challenge to Israel’s air defense system, which already has been working overtime to cope with incoming rocket, drone and missile attacks throughout the six-month war against Hamas.
Here’s a closer look at Israel’s multilayered air-defense system:
The Arrow: This system developed with the U.S. is designed to intercept long-range missiles, including the types of ballistic missiles Iran said it launched on Saturday. The Arrow, which operates outside the atmosphere, has been used in the current war to intercept long-range missiles launched by Houthi militants in Yemen.
David’s Sling: Also developed with the U.S., the David’s Sling is meant to intercept medium-range missiles, such as those possessed by Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Patriot: This American-made system is the oldest member of Israel’s missile-defense system – used during the First Gulf War in 1991 to intercept Scud missiles fired by Iraq’s leader at the time, Saddam Hussein. The Patriot is now used to shoot down aircraft, including drones.
Iron Dome: This system, developed by Israel with U.S. backing, specializes in shooting down short-range rockets. It has intercepted thousands of rockets since it was activated early last decade – including thousands of interceptions during the current war against Hamas and Hezbollah. Israel says it has a success rate of over 90%.
Iron Beam: Israel is developing a new system to intercept incoming threats with laser technology. Israel has said this system will be a game changer because it is much cheaper to operate than existing systems. However, it is not yet operational.
