TEL AVIV — Israel's new rocket defense system has proven a
hit-to-kill capability.
Officials said Israel's Iron Dome has achieved the ability to strike
incoming short-range missiles and rockets. They said the Iron Dome
demonstrated this during its first live fire test in mid-2009.
"They met head on," Defense Minister Ehud Barak said.
In a Nov. 17 address to the International Aerospace Conference and
Exhibition-Israel, Barak said Iron Dome exceeded all expectations. He said
the assessment within the Defense Ministry and
military had been that the interceptor would explode 10 meters from the
incoming missile.
At the annual aerospace parley, the Defense Ministry showed a film of the
Iron Dome intercept. The edited clip showed the Iron Dome interceptor
hurling into the air followed by an explosion. The interceptor's approach
toward the incoming target missile was not shown.
Officials said Iron Dome was not designed solely for hit-to-kill
interception. They said the interceptor, through the use of shrapnel, was
capable of stopping or diverting an incoming missile from a distance of
three meters.
Iron Dome has been designed and developed by the state-owned Rafael
Advanced Defense Systems. Officials said Iron Dome would be ready for
deployment in 2011, but could be rushed into service earlier.
Officials said Iron Dome, meant to operate at all times and in any
weather, would be the lowest tier of Israel's multi-layered missile defense
umbrella. The system was designed to intercept missiles and rockets with a
range of up to 70 kilometers.
The Defense Ministry has encouraged Rafael to market Iron Dome to
foreign countries. Officials said the system has been marketed to Brazil and
India.
