Officials said the Defense Ministry and military have completed a series
of live-fire tests of Israel's Iron Dome system. In mid-July, Iron Dome
intercepted several short-range missiles and rockets in launches conducted
in the southern desert.
"The tests were based on more realistic scenarios than in previous
trials," an official said.
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The state-owned Rafael Advanced Defense Systems has been developing Iron
Dome to counter missiles and rockets with a range of up to 80 kilometers. In
the latest tests, Iron Dome intercepted missiles that simulated Hamas's
Kassam-class missiles and the Soviet-designed BM-21 Katyusha.
Officials said the latest tests could be the last before Iron Dome
begins operations in the Israel Air Force — which has already established a
battalion — in the fall of 2010. They said Iron Dome would be deployed
along the borders of Lebanon and the Gaza Strip.
Iron Dome has been directed by a radar developed by Elta Systems, a
subsidiary of the state-owned Israel Aerospace Industries. The Elta radar
was designed to detect launches and track incoming missiles and rockets.
The radar was meant to predict enemy missile landings in an effort to limit
interceptions to incoming projectiles that threaten civilian or military
targets.
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