Behind The Iron Dome

Behind The Iron Dome: Key Engineer Tells How Israeli Defense System Saved Lives -- FOX News

HAIFA, Israel – If there was one clear winner in the latest round of hostilities between Israel and Hamas, it was the Iron Dome -- the Jewish state's complex defense system that plucks rockets out of the sky before they can threaten civilian targets.

As daily rocket attacks from Gaza leapt from a handful to hundreds earlier this month, the vaunted system was deployed to near universal praise, intercepting an estimated 400 potentially deadly missiles. In an exclusive interview with FoxNews.com, "Ari," an Iron Dome engineer whose real name is being withheld, described what it is like to be part of the team of cutting edge technology developers, and the challenges faced by the team at Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, which worked with two other Israeli companies, Elta, and mPrest Systems on the program.

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Previous Post: A Look At Israel's Iron Dome Missile Defense System (Updated)

My Comment: It has a high success rate .... a fact that I suspect is surprising a lot of military pundits around the world.

Buyers For Israel's Iron Dome?

Israel’s Antimissile System Attracts Potential Buyers -- New York Times

WASHINGTON — The success cited by Israel for its Iron Dome antimissile system in its confrontation with Hamas has re-energized American missile defense advocates and generated new interest in the global arms bazaar from nations like South Korea that face short-range rocket threats from hostile neighbors.

But even ardent supporters of a continent-size missile shield to guard the United States and other NATO members acknowledge the limitations of Iron Dome, which is a tactical system designed to shoot down unsophisticated rockets — basically flying pipe bombs — with a range of less than 50 miles.

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My Comment: Too early to state unequivocally that Iron Dome is a success .... but it does look promising.

With U.S. Backing, Israel Tests More Powerful Rocket Interceptors

David's Sling, also known as the "Magic Wand" system, can intercept mid-range missiles. Photo by Haaretz

Israel Says Successfully Tests More Powerful Rocket Interceptor -- Reuters

(Reuters) - A new Israeli air shield against rockets more powerful than those intercepted by Iron Dome in the Gaza conflict passed its first field test last week after being rushed through development, officials said on Sunday.

They said that David's Sling, billed as Israel's answer to the longer-range missiles of Lebanese Hezbollah guerrillas and Syria, shot down a target rocket in a secret November 20 desert trial that coincided with fierce shelling exchanges between Israel and Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

Worried about deteriorating security on the fronts with Gaza, Lebanon and Syria, and the international showdown over the disputed nuclear program of arch-foe Iran, Israel has been accelerating work on its multi-tier missile shield, with extensive help from the United States.

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More News On Israel's Rocket Interceptor Program

Israel successfully tests missile defense system -- AP
Israel's David's Sling defense system intercepts mid-range missile in first trial -- Haaretz
Israel successfully tests Magic Wand system -- YNet News
Israel reports success in new missile defence test -- AFP
Israel tests new weapon, but gap remains -- UPI
Israel Successfully Tests David's Sling Defense System -- RIA Novosti
Israel conducts first interception test of David’s Sling -- World Tribune
Israel Successfully Test Fires ‘David’s Sling’ Missile Defense System -- Eurasia Review/RT
U.S.-Israel Missile System Scores First Intercept -- Defense News
Israel developing next-generation missile defense system with help from Raytheon -- Boston.com
Longer-range Israel rocket interceptor seen ready within 3 years -- Reuters
Israel’s Iron Dome is the hero of the hour, but bigger challenges lie ahead -- Haaretz
Iron Dome’s Lessons for the U.S. -- Mark Thompson, Time
How did Iron Dome perform over course of Gaza clash? -- Mark Urban, BBC
Why Israel's "Iron Dome" Missile-Defense System Actually Works -- MIT Technology Review

The Company Behind Israel's Iron Dome

How to Stop Missiles: The Company Behind Israel's Iron Dome -- Bloomberg Businesweek

The success of Israel’s Iron Dome in shooting down missiles fired from Gaza has a lot to do with a company you’ve probably never heard of: mPrest Systems. The company, led by a retired Israeli naval captain named Natan Barak, makes the smarts of Iron Dome. According to the company’s website, its computer technology performs “air awareness picture building, target classification, calculating interception programs and controlling launch and interception processes.”

The system has stopped roughly 90 percent of incoming missiles, not counting the hundreds that it let through deliberately because it was clear they would land in unoccupied areas, according to a spokesman for the Israeli Ministry of Defense. Iron Dome has undoubtedly saved the lives of Israeli citizens. It has probably saved the lives of people in Gaza as well, because without the shield in place there would have been an outcry from the Israeli public for a ground invasion of Gaza to root out the missile launchers. That would have caused many more deaths on both sides.

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My Comment: For more info on how Israel's Iron Dome system works, go here. America's stake in the system is explained here. More background information on the companies that developed the Iron Dome system can be read here. Hopes for developing the Iron Dome platform into a better system can be read here. mPrest Systems' website is here.

Why The Success Of Israel's Iron Dome Is A Big Thing

The Dangerous Success Of Iron Dome -- David Horovitz, Times of Israel

You can bet that even as Hamas and its sponsors are recovering from the shock of clanging into Israel’s new missile shield, they are contemplating fresh ways to kill us. Those drafting the Pillar of Defense ceasefire terms mustn’t make it easy for them

Remember Amir Peretz? He’s the abundantly moustached former trade union chief who led the Labor Party into the 2006 elections and found himself, by the peculiar machinations of Israel’s ridiculous electoral system, installed as defense minister despite a conspicuous absence of high-level defense expertise. He’s the man who misguidedly trusted then-chief of General Staff Dan Halutz’s assurances that Hezbollah could be destroyed from the air in the mismanaged 2006 Second Lebanon War. He’s the buffoon who was photographed gravely viewing IDF military maneuvers on the Golan Heights five years ago through binoculars from which he had neglected to remove the lens caps.

Actually, I’m not talking about that Amir Peretz. I’m talking about the other Amir Peretz. Amir Peretz, the Sderot resident who had the wisdom and guts to defy Israel’s macho military thinkers and insist, when serving as defense minister, that Israel press ahead with the development of the Iron Dome missile defense system to protect his hometown and the other Gaza-envelope communities from Hamas’s relentless rocket attacks.

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Previous Post: A Look At Israel's Iron Dome Missile Defense System (Updated)

My Comment: I stil believe that it is too early to call the Iron Dome program a success .... but it is surely surprising a lot of people .... this blogger included.

A Look At Israel's Iron Dome Missile Defense System (Updated)

How Israel's Iron Dome Missile Defence System Works -- CBC

n response to repeated rocket attacks from the Palestinian territory of Gaza over the past few years, Israel has deployed a missile defence system called Iron Dome.

What is it?

Iron Dome is a missile-defense system developed by Rafael Advanced Defense Systems Ltd., an Israeli military contractor, in conjunction with the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF). It is designed to intercept incoming rockets, long-range artillery and aircraft, and destroy them in the air before they reach populated areas.

In 2007, then-Israeli defense minister Amir Peretz announced that Iron Dome was the government’s choice for dealing with the threat from short-range missiles. Iron Dome was first deployed in March 2011 to thwart missiles being launched into Israel by Hamas militants in Gaza.

According to Israeli officials, Iron Dome has had a 90 per cent success rate in destroying Hamas rockets fired into populated areas.

There are currently five different Iron Dome installations, all located in southern Israel, the general target of most of Hamas rockets thus far.

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More News On Israel's Iron Dome System

How Israel’s ‘Iron Dome’ Knocks Almost Every Incoming Missile Out Of The Sky -- Popular Science
How does the Iron Dome work? -- Haaretz
Iron Dome rocket smasher set to change Gaza conflict -- New Scientist
What Is Israel’s Iron Dome? -- Gizmodo
Gaza conflict tests Israeli defense system -- Washington Post
Covering Israel with an "Iron Dome" -- CBS
A Look at Israel's 'Iron Dome' Missile Defense -- AP
Israel’s ‘Iron Dome’ and how it works -- Niti Central
Israel's Iron Dome blocks Gaza barrage -- UPI
Israel’s Iron Dome: The Ultimate Missile Destroyer -- Daily Beast
Israelis put faith in Iron Dome missile defence system -- The Guardian
Israel conflict: What is Iron Dome? -- Washington Post
Israel's Iron Dome missile shield -- BBC
How Israel's Iron Dome missile defense works -- Washington Post
Tel Aviv saved by Iron Dome intercept -- Reuters
Barak seeks NIS 750 million to speed delivery of Iron Dome systems -- Haaretz
Israeli missile-makers strive to meet Iron Dome demand -- Reuters
Israel's Iron Dome alters the battlefield as Hamas boosts arsenal -- The National
Israel's Iron Dome provides cover, but not normalcy (+video) -- Christian Science Monitor
Iron Dome: Missile defense system a game changer, Israelis say -- CNN
Gaza conflict: Is Israel’s Iron Dome a game-changer? -- Kate Allen, Toronto Star
Beyond Iron Dome: Israeli tech is America’s hope -- Arthur Herman, New York Post
Israel's Iron Dome
A breakout performance for missile defense. -- Wall Street Journal
Iron Dome Spoils The Hamas Surprise Attack -- Strategy Page
Why Everyone Should Root for Iron Dome -- Seth Mandel, Commentary
How Israel’s Iron Dome won the war -- Jonathan Kay, National Post

A Look At Israel's Iron Dome System

Israeli Iron Dome Stops A Rocket With A Rocket -- New York Times

JERUSALEM — An abiding image of the former Israel defense minister Amir Peretz was a photograph of him peering at a military drill — with the black lens caps still on his binoculars. Mr. Peretz resigned months after the 2006 war in Lebanon, which was widely regarded as a failure.

Yet on Sunday, as rockets fired by Gaza militants streaked toward Tel Aviv, Ashdod and other Israeli cities, Mr. Peretz, a resident of the rocket-battered border town of Sderot, was being hailed as a defense visionary for having had the foresight while in office to face down myriad skeptics and push for the development of Iron Dome, Israel’s unique anti-rocket interceptor system.

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More News On Israel's Iron Dome

Gaza conflict tests Israeli defense system -- Washington Post
Covering Israel with an "Iron Dome" -- CBS
A Look at Israel's 'Iron Dome' Missile Defense -- AP
Israel’s Iron Dome: The Ultimate Missile Destroyer -- Daily Beast
Israel conflict: What is Iron Dome? -- Washington Post
Israel's Iron Dome missile shield -- BBC
How Israel's Iron Dome missile defense works -- Washington Post
Tel Aviv saved by Iron Dome intercept -- Reuters
Barak seeks NIS 750 million to speed delivery of Iron Dome systems -- Haaretz
Israel's Iron Dome provides cover, but not normalcy (+video) -- Christian Science Monitor
Iron Dome: Missile defense system a game changer, Israelis say -- CNN

Israeli Wedding Video Shows Iron Dome Taking Out Rockets

Israeli Wedding Video Shows Missile Defense Taking Out Rockets -- Business Insider

Never having lived in Israel I can only imagine the cautionary acceptance that must come with being under the constant threat of attack. Most apartment buildings have bomb shelters that are supposed to be resistant to chemical attacks, while air raid maps outline how long residents have to take cover once the alert is sounded.

Imagine a first date, taking a child to school, visiting grandparents and getting stuck in traffic — all under the constant possibility of an incoming attack.

Imagining life under those circumstances, along with this video, could go a long way to helping understand why Israel's Iron Dome is so important and why the U.S. spent so much money helping build it.

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My Comment: It is heavily censored .... but still cool.

Update: How Israel's Iron Dome Takes Out Incoming Rockets -- Business Insider

A U.S. Version Of Israel's Iron Dome

Some U.S. Lawmakers Push For Iron Dome Coproduction -- Aviation Week

Israel's new “Iron Dome” counter-rocket, artillery and mortar system has racked up a success rate above 80% since being fielded last year, but its weak link—as with most missile defense systems—is too few interceptors.

Israel plans to solve this problem in the short term by doubling the Rafael's Tamir interceptor manufacturing capacity. But some U.S. lawmakers are pushing the Pentagon to step in and coproduce the missile on U.S. soil, not only as a backstop for the Israel Defense Forces' supply but as a domestic capability that could protect deployed soldiers.

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My Comment: An 80% success rate is excellent. I would be happy with even a 50% rate.