The attack on Israel by the Hamas militant group on October 7, which turned out to be the worst attack inside the country since 1948, killed at least 250 Israelis. The group also abducted several others. In retaliation, the Jewish state carried out counter attack which caused over 230 casualties in Gaza.
Yesterday’s attack has now raised concerns over Israel’s defence system, along with potential intelligence failure.
Earlier, CNN’s Nic Robertson shared a video of Israel’s famous ‘Iron Dome’ intercepting rockets “coming in from Gaza”.
What is Israel’s Iron Dome defence system?
Deployed by Israel in 2011, the Iron Dome is a short-range, ground-to-air defence system. It comprises radar and Tamir interceptor missiles that track and neutralise rockets or missiles coming at targets within Israel.
It has three main systems which provide a shield over the area where it is positioned and is capable of neutralising multiple threats at once. The Iron Dome is used for launch counter-attacks to rockets, artillery and mortars (C-RAM), along with aircraft, helicopters and unmanned aerial vehicles. It has a detection and tracking radar which spots any incoming threats, a battle management and weapon control system (BMC), and a missile firing unit.
Why did Israel deploy Iron Dome?
The Iron Dome can trace its origin to the 2006 Israeli-Lebanon war when the Hezbollah militant group fired thousands of rockets into Israel, The Indian Express reported. In 2007, Israel announced its Rafael Advance Systems would make a new air defence system. The new system was developed with Israel Aerospace Industries.
Rafael Advance Systems claims the Iron Dome has a success rate of over 90% with over 2,000 interceptions, experts agree the success rate is over 80%. It says the system can “protect deployed and manoeuvring forces, as well as the Forward Operating Base (FOB) and urban areas, against a wide range of indirect and aerial threats”.
How much does the system cost?
Each battery of the Iron Dome, or the full unit, can cost over $50 million, and one interceptor Tamir missile costs around $80,000. In order to intercept a single rocket, the system dispatches two Tamir missiles.