Military industries companies and the Israeli security establishment have employed wars on the Gaza Strip in order to develop defense systems to counter short-range missiles and anti-armored missiles, and fortify the home front, as the need for this emerged during the second war on Lebanon in July 2006.

Iron Dome operates in all kinds of weather conditions, and the system includes a vehicle to move that can be easily transported from one place to another.

Each launcher includes 20 interceptor missiles, at a cost of at least $ 15,000 per missile, meaning that one launcher needs $ 300,000 interceptor missiles, and the high cost was one of the most important criticisms of the system.

The price of each interceptor missile is tens of thousands of dollars for a resistance missile that costs several hundred dollars, but the military industries have justified this that it remains less expensive than the new Patriot missile, which costs 3-5 million dollars.

Netanyahu inspects an Iron Dome base during the current military campaign (Al-Jazeera)

Lebanon and Gaza

During the second war on Lebanon, Hezbollah fired about 4 thousand Katyusha rockets that showed the fragility of the northern home front even after Haifa, and in parallel with that, the Israeli army launched a military operation against Gaza called "Saif Gilad", which prompted the resistance to launch 8 thousand A rocket-propelled grenade aimed at the "Gaza envelope" settlements.

The resistance shells from Gaza confused the settlements of the "Gaza envelope", and their fall in the Israeli towns, 40 kilometers away, the Israeli home front, which is no longer safe in light of the new situation.

During the war on the Lebanese and Gaza fronts in 2006, during the term of former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, Defense Minister Amir Peretz issued his recommendations in order to begin practically developing a defense system for the Israeli airspace from missiles, missiles and drones.

Tel Aviv has called its military innovation "Iron Dome," which is an active, portable air defense system to intercept short-range missiles, mortars, and unmanned aerial vehicles.

Manufacturing began with economic assistance from the United States, and an initial budget of $ 250 million was allocated. The system was developed and manufactured by Rafael and Elta, which developed and manufactured the radar, while Imprest developed the command and control system.

Trials and wars

At the end of 2010, the first defense dome systems entered into trial operation, and they were practically tested in maneuvers simulating a military operation on the front of the Gaza Strip, and the system designed to repel short-range rockets and artillery shells with a range of up to 70 kilometers was tested.

Israel took advantage of the war on Gaza in March 2008, to develop the system, after the resistance missiles for the first time reached the town of Ashkelon, more than 80 km from Gaza.

Then Israel returned again to develop it in the same year, according to developments and the development of the resistance's capabilities and missiles, during the military operation on Gaza, the Battle of Al-Furqan - "Cast Lead" - between December 2008 and January 18, 2009.

With the expansion of the range of resistance rockets fired from Gaza and reaching Tel Aviv, the Israeli military and air industries continued to develop the Iron Dome system, during Operation Shale Stones - "Pillar of Cloud" - November 2012.

Consequently, field tests also continued during Operation Eatable Storm - "Protective Edge" - July 2014.

In November 2017, the ability to intercept mortar shells was added, and the Iron Dome Naval System, which was installed on Israeli naval ships, was announced, with the cost of producing a single advanced missile from $ 15,000 to $ 65,000.

The Iron Dome marine system has been installed on Israeli Navy ships (Reuters)

Costs and feasibility

At the end of March 2011, the Hodeidah Dome system entered operational service as part of the "947th Battalion" of the Israeli Air Force's air defense system, as the system is considered one of the 4 operating systems that make up the Israeli multi-layered defense system.

Since Operation Eatable Storm - "Protective Edge" - in July 2014, 10 batteries from the Iron Dome system have been introduced to operate and serve the Israeli Air Force, and the cost of producing one battery is estimated at 100 million dollars, in addition to 300 million dollars for the interceptor missiles it is supplied with One battery.

Iron Dome is designed to fire a lot of fire to deal with short-range missiles and heavy artillery shells, and one battery contains 8 launchers each containing 20 interceptors, and multiple missiles can be launched simultaneously.

The interceptor missile is fired if the threatening missiles are to fall over populated areas, near residential areas and strategic locations, as the Israeli army claimed that the Iron Dome was able to intercept 80% of the threatening missiles that landed inside populated areas.

Iron Dome has a minimum range of 4.5 kilometers to intercept threatening missiles, which means difficulty intercepting missiles in the short range.

The resistance factions are constantly monitoring and studying the effectiveness of the Iron Dome system and trying to circumvent it mainly by launching an intense and continuous barrage of dozens of rockets on a multiple and different range, which was revealed during the current military aggression on Gaza.

The cost of producing one advanced missile from the system ranges from $ 15,000 to $ 65,000 (Reuters)

Efficacy and coverage

It is estimated that the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) and Islamic Jihad possess about 15,000 rockets, more than the Israeli intelligence estimated before the fight, and tens and possibly hundreds of missiles with a range of 160 kilometers, which could reach beyond Tel Aviv, and would reach To the power plant in Hadera, it is clear that the Iron Dome will not be effective and it is not a solution to the new reality.

However, even if 4 or 5 more iron domes were built in the coming years which would provide better spread and coverage from south to north, it would certainly not be able to withstand a barrage of tens of thousands of missiles regardless of their extent.

Accordingly, the Israeli military and air industries are examining during this period the possibility of modernizing the Iron Dome by developing a system that works with laser beams, to enable it to intercept rockets and missiles fired even at a short range and counteract intense missile bursts fired continuously - without interruption - and simultaneously.