Special to WorldTribune.com

TEL AVIV — The Israeli military, hampered by budget woes, has delayed deployment of missile defense assets.

Officials said the Israel Air Force has been unable to deploy the Iron Dome missile defense system with a reported interception rate of 80 percent.

The officials said plans to station two Iron Dome batteries were suspended because of a budget shortage.

“There has been a shortage of funds that blocked plans to expand the Iron Dome network,” an official said.

So far, the Air Force has been operating six Iron Dome batteries, meant to intercept missiles with a range of up to 100 kilometers. The Air Force has sought to deploy an additional two batteries in northern Israel by early 2014.

Officials said the budget crunch also affected Air Force plans to significantly enhance Iron Dome. They said the Air Force was working with prime contractor Rafael Advanced Defense Systems to intercept rockets and missiles with a range of up to 130 kilometers.

The budget shortage has also hampered the development of the longer-range David’s Sling. Officials said David’s Sling was meant to achieve initial deployment in 2014.

“This issue has to be resolved soon to meet new threats from Hamas and
Hizbullah,” the officials said.

  Budget shortfall keeps Israel from deploying more Iron Dome batteries, David’s Sling, Rafael Advanced Defense Systems