Despite the recent success of the Iron Dome defense system against Hamas, Iranian missiles would prove a much tougher challenge.
If Israel eventually makes good on its years of threats and strikes Iran’s nuclear facilities the Iranians have promised to “respond with everything they have.” One means of retaliation available to Iran is launching missile attacks against Israel both directly and through proxy groups like Hamas and Hezbollah.
How Israel is likely to cope with this depends in large part on its new missile defense system, which includes “Iron Dome,” the latest jewel in Israel’s opulent military crown. Iron Dome is seen as a panacea for a country perpetually targeted by missiles: it is a $210 million, mobile all-weather air defense system developed by Israeli firm Rafael Advanced Defense Systems (with additional funding from the U.S.), working jointly with the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). Designed to intercept and destroy short-range rockets and artillery shells fired from distances of up to 70 km away, it is, so Israel’s leaders say, the future of the country’s defense.
Iron Dome has its roots in the 2006 Second Lebanon War. During the hostilities, the Lebanese militia group Hezbollah fired around 4,000 mostly short-range Katyusha rockets at northern Israel, including at its third largest city, Haifa. Scores of Israelis were killed and thousands were forced to cower in bomb shelters. Meanwhile, in the south of the country things had been bad for years. Between 2000 and the Second Lebanon War, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the military arm of Hamas, fired thousands Gazan-made Qassam and Iranian-made Fajr-5 rockets into the south of Israel, where almost 1 million Israelis live within rocket range.
The seemingly endless missile attacks from Gaza and Lebanon were enough to prompt the Israeli government into action. Shortly after the Lebanon War, in February 2007, Israeli Defense Minister, Amir Peretz, announced that Rafael Advanced Defense Systems would develop a new missile defense shield – Iron Dome – that was to be Israel's defensive solution to the country’s short-range rocket threat.
Photo Credit: Wikicommons
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Schminner
One size does not fit all … where have I heard that before? Trojan?
William
The most recent conflict between Israel and Hamas is instructive. As effective as the Iron Dome was, it was not perfect. I understand that it's efficiency rate was 90%, much better than 0% but not as good as 100%. Ten percent of the Hamas rockets got through and while they were not guided missiles, they did manage to kill a number of Israelis. Even though the number of people killed in the Gaza Strip was more than 100 Palestinians, the 10 to 1 kill ratio was a serious concern for the members of the Israeli Cabinet. It seems that it was one among the major reasons why Israel was inclined to seek a truce rather than press forward with a ground war.
What must have been shocking to all Israelis and members of the Israeli Cabinet, where the sheer number of rockets. more than 900 in total, that Hamas was able to launch. How was it possible that Hamas could get its hands on so many rockets when the borders of Gaza are monitored so closely.
This must be of great concern to the Israeli government and Mr. Netanyahu as they move forward with Bibi's plan to attack the nuclear facilities of Iran. Iran's response would surely be far more dangerous than anything launched by Hamas. The long-range missles will be guided. There is the potential that the may be multiple-tipped warheads, making them more difficult to take out if they are equipped with defensive capabilities that detect defensive strike missiles intent on destroying them. In short, an Iron Dome Plus may not be enough. It is a dangerous calculus for Israel to attack Iran given it's capability to launch a military response that is far greater than the most recent response from Hamas. There is the added danger that Hezbollah in Lebanon and Syria might launch missiles in support of its allie. The hidden risks of an Israeli attack on Iran are far more obvious now than they were before the Israeli-Hamas conflict.
Shimon
You write "The Limits of Iron Dome" as if Iron Dome falls short in a way, considering the Iranian Shihab threat. "The Iranians know Iron Dome's limitaions"… wait, are they saying they actually think Iron Dome is supposed to stop their Shihab — but it can't — so therefore they are invincible? What a childish dialog, and how immature to quote them on that. That's like saying "American M-16s can't shoot down helicopters, therefore we are invincible."
The Iron Dome was not developed as a counter measure against Shihabs, or any other ICBM for that matter. It was developed to intercept short-range rockets, which it does superbly.
Ed martiszus, RN
Sorry but in the nuclear age 99% defensive knockdown of incoming missiles is not good enough. I understand that missiles not coming close to isreali population areas were not engaged by iron dome. Two missiles hit jerusalem and tele-aviv, the others' falling "harmessly " outside the cities. Okay, first in todays nuclear weaponary 10-100megaton hydrogen bombs are aimed at cities either MIRV'ed, swarmed or fired sequentially to avoid nuclear fratricide to incoming missiles. So basically, tele-aviv, and jerusalem would at this time be glass covered parking lots, with hundreds of thousands dead, hundreds of thousands dying of radiation of early fallout, and soon to be followed by hundreds of thousands more from AIDS, oppurtunistic infections, severe burns, poisoned water and food, and no onsite medical facilities or personnel. The successfully engaged missiles would still spread plutonium and uranium through the atmosphere, water and land. The "harmless" unengaged rockets would strike rural areas, spreading radiation sources of agriculturally grown food, and watersheds supplying water to rivers. Who will go out to farm the land with early and late fallout? I would like to extend my hand in thanks to the philistine rocketmen and the hebrew defense forces teaching the world that nuclear war is unwinnable, immoral, stranglovian and still illegal under the International Court of Justice ruling of July 8, 1996. If you start a nuclear war we will come after you, just like at Nuremberg. You will be caught somewhere, sometime. I consider fallout landing on my skin a war crime. A crime with no excuse, no forgetting, and no forgiving. I already consider peres and netanyahu war criminals just for trying to incite nuclear. what happened in Nazi Germany doesn't choose the hebrews and give them a green light to play with nuclear matches. I was disappointed netanyahu was not arrested with the dog and pony show he gave at the UN recently. Ed Martiszus, RN the nuclear war resisting nurse
Dan B
Ed martiszus……………10-100 megaton bombs, huh? Well considering that the largest bomb ever made (Czar Bomb) yielded around 70 megatons & that was a one off……………& considering that no nation on earth today deploys nukes larger than 3-4 meggatons, your 10-100 comment seems a bit silly.
Brian Damage
Must have skipped the military history class in nursing school.
Tamera Kingston
Ed, no sane person is going to argue that a nuclear war is a good thing, but your lengthy diatribe against its very real horrors and after-effects are barely tangentially related to the topic of the article. Your underlying anti-Semitism comes through load and clear, though. The Israelis have every reason to be nervous about a nuclear Iran with a leadership that has publicly called for their extermination. The Israelis have not indicated that Iran, Arabs, or Muslims should be eradicated from the face of the earth, so their need for a strong stand against threats and aggression are hardly irrational or inflammatory. How would you react if someone declared publicly, "All nurses named Ed should be annihilated."?
nick
maybe u need to look up how a bomb like that works…the uranium pin has to activate first..nothing would happen if it were blown out of the sky…not like your saying anyway
Joseph
The piece makes clear that the arrow (not David’s sling) is designed to intercept Iranian missiles. You need Ro read the piece you’re commenting on properly!
You cant kid us
Your so full of s*it diplomat,Iron Dome is not designed for Iranian missiles,thats davids sling and Arrow
Sherman Stenson
The article makes it quite clear that Iron Dome is not intended to be employed against Iranian missiles, and that Arrow and David's Sling are the systems planned for that purpose. Did you even read the entire article before throwing in your comment?
nick
thats what he said..did u read his comment..
Chuka Uzoigwe
Why exactly can't the Iron Dome intercept long-ranged missiles, what is the operational difference? I would think the system would try to intercept once within range.
Linh_My
Due to the physics involved, the longer the range the faster the projectile travels. Check out ballistics tables.
Sherman Stenson
Trajectory and speed, primarily. The rockets used on Israel from Gaza and Lebanon follow a relatively shallow path, likely all at subsonic or low supersonic speeds. Ballistic missiles traveling from Iran would be suborbital, but very steep inbound terminal trajectories, with the warheads traveling at multiple-supersonic or even hypersonic speeds. Has major effects on the needs of the radar system, intercept calculation software and controls, and the intercept missile's properties and capabilities.
MJ M
Interesting? What a horrible thing to say, like it's some kind of game. Millions of peoples lives are at stake! Only a cur would say something so distasteful.
Linh_My
There is a well known Asian curse, "May you be condemned to live in interesting times." I'm sure that everyone else understood the reference.
Jill Merry
You overestimate Shimner’s intelligence..
Schminner
It will be interesting to see Israel and Iran go to war ….
Mitchell Johnson
Schminner, a war between the two countries is not interesting. The amount of damage that it would cause would have serious environmental effects on the Earth, not to mention the amonut of life lost. The only way that I see Isreal attacking Iran is if it recives military aid from other countries. Mayeb the US, and it allies. Otherwise, until Isreal deals with the Hamas problem, this is not happening.