Refael: 'Iron Dome will protect Sderot'
The Iron Dome anti-missile system has passed its final test and the first two batteries will be deployed in November. According to Yossi Druker, the director of Refael's Iron Dome project, the system is capable of protecting Sderot. Drucker said that Iron Dome had exceeded the defense establishment's original expectations for the anti-missile system. He also specifically stated that Iron Dome could be used to protect Sderot from incoming Palestinian rocket attacks.Color me skeptical.
The Iron Dome missile defense system passed its last tests and the first two batteries will be ready for deployment by November, the Defense Ministry said Monday. If it proves effective, the system could have far-reaching strategic implications for Israel's ongoing battle against militant groups on its borders.
The Iron Dome system uses sophisticated radar to track incoming rockets, intercepting and destroying them far from their targets. It is the only anti-rocket system of its kind in the world, according to experts.
Its aims to protect Israel from homemade and imported rockets fired by Palestinian militants in Gaza, as well as the more sophisticated rockets in the hands of Hizbullah guerrillas on Israel's border with Lebanon.
The successful tests completed Monday involved destroying multiple incoming targets in coordination with other air force systems, the Defense Ministry said in a statement.
The ministry said the first two Iron Dome batteries would be deployed by November. Defense officials said they would be posted near the town of Sderot, near the Gaza border, a favorite target of Palestinian rocket squads.
posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 7:22 PM
5 Comments:
What happens when hundreds of missiles target Israel simultaneously?
It strikes me as the Maginot line redux.
We should give it a chance. This is the first time any country will test an anti-missile system under real world conditions. Its not the complete answer of course to the issue of Palestinian terrorism but it should be a valuable tool in Israel's line of defenses against a hostile enemy.
NormanF,
I agree with giving it a chance to work, but I am highly skeptical that it will work (I'm inclined to agree with 935684).
I am also bothered by the fact that if it does work, Israel will be pressured to forfeit land in Judea and Samaria, because after all we're 'protected from any rocket threat.' An anti-missile system, no matter how good, will not turn this country's borders into the US border with Canada.
Presumably it would be used in concert with more traditional methods to combat rocket launches, such as by targeting the launch sites with air strikes. That's what I would expect to happen if there were a sustained barrage.
Carl,
I want to clarify my position. An anti-missile system is a backup for holding strategically vital territory, not a substitute for it. There is no substitute for a permanent IDF presence in Yesha. It is impossible to defend Israel from a territorial distance ten miles wide. Israel cannot go back under any circumstances, to the 1967 borders.
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