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Journalism of Courage
The bloody conflict in West Asia escalated further on October 1 when Iran rained down missiles on Israel, and the Jewish nation said it would strike back.
While Tehran said most of its missiles hit their targets, Israel said many were intercepted by its air defence systems.
Israel’s air defence system is multi-layered, to protect against missiles fired from short distances (like by Hamas) to longer ranges (missiles that fly outside the Earth’s atmosphere, likely to be fired by nations further away from Israel, such as Iran).
The Iron Dome is the best-known, but this time, according to the BBC, other elements of the country’s defence systems “probably did the bulk of the work.”
Apart from the Iron Dome, David’s Sling, Arrow 2 and 3, and the Iron Beam protect Israel from missiles. We explain what they are.
The Iron Dome is a short-range, ground-to-air, air defence system that includes a radar and interceptor missiles, which track and neutralise rockets or missiles aimed at Israeli targets. It is used for countering rockets, artillery & mortars (C-RAM) as well as aircraft, helicopters and unmanned aerial vehicles.
The genesis of the Iron Dome goes back to the 2006 Israeli-Lebanon war, when Hezbollah fired thousands of rockets into Israel. The following year, Israel announced that its state-run Rafael Advance Systems would come up with a new air defence system to protect its cities and people. It was developed with Israel Aerospace Industries. The Iron Dome was deployed in 2011. For more details on the Iron Dome, read this explainer we published in 2021.
David’s Sling is the next level in Israel’s air defence system, and can intercept missiles with a longer range than the Iron Dome. It was developed by Rafael along with the US-based RTX Corp (RTX.N), formerly known as Raytheon, and declared operational in 2017.
According to Reuters, “the mid-range David’s Sling system is designed to shoot down ballistic missiles fired from 100 km to 200 km (62 to 124 miles) away.”
“David’s Sling’s maneuverable, two-stage, hit-to-kill Stunner missile has no warhead; the interceptor destroys threats with sheer force of impact. The Stunner missile is proven to defeat all short-range ballistic missiles – 92 percent of the worldwide theater ballistic missile threat inventory… A variant of the Stunner hit-to-kill missile, the highly advanced SkyCeptor interceptor is developed to defeat short- to medium-range ballistic and cruise missiles and other advanced air defense threats,” the website of RTX Corp says.
The Arrow family is the long-range tier of Israel’s air defence system, and can intercept missiles that fly outside the Earth’s atmosphere. It has been developed by the state-owned Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI).
According to the IAI’s website, “the Arrow modular air defense systems detect, track, intercept and destroy incoming TBMs [Tactical Ballistic Missiles] carrying a range of warheads and over a large footprint, thereby protecting strategic assets and population centers. The innovative Arrow 3 interceptor is designed to intercept and destroy the newest, longer-range threats, especially those carrying weapons of mass destruction.”
The Iron Beam, like the Iron Dome, is designed for short-range rockets, of up to 10 km. It uses laser beams to destroy a target, and is cheaper than the traditional missile interceptors. It has been developed by Rafael.
“Engaging at the speed of light, Iron Beam has an unlimited magazine, with almost zero cost per interception, and causes minimal collateral damage,” Rafael’s website says.
