The Ministry of Defense announced Tuesday that it has upgraded the country’s Iron Dome rocket defense system to deal with an additional series of air threats.
The Iron Dome was developed by Israel’s Advanced Rafael Defense Systems to deter short-range irregular rockets and has fired at about 2,500 incoming projects fired from the Gaza Strip since used ten years ago.
In a statement, the ministry’s head of missile defense, Moshe Patel, said the Iron Dome has completed a series of experiments that included successful interactions of rocket and missile salvos as well as simultaneous observations. on many unmanned aerial vehicles.
The campaign, along with two recent Iron Dome flight tests, showed “a major upgrade to the system’s technological capabilities,” the Ministry of Defense said.
“The new version of the Iron Dome system will be delivered to the IAF and Navy for operational use and will strengthen Israel’s multi-tier missile defense capabilities,” the ministry said.
“Despite emerging and rapidly changing threats, these new capabilities provide the political echelon and defense base with the operational flexibility critical to our national security,” said Defense Minister Benny Gantz about the results.
The Iron Dome is part of Israel’s multifaceted air defense system, from systems capable of capturing rockets fired from short range up to long-range missiles outside the atmosphere.
They defend against a wide range of ballistic missiles, with a focus on the ballistic threat of Iran and those sent by the Hezbollah terrorist group from Lebanon and Hamas and Islamic Jihad from the Gaza Strip.
Iran has recently demonstrated such offensive capabilities in several strikes on targets in Saudi Arabia.
Patel said the new Iron Dome system would soon be used by the Israeli Air Force and Navy.
In 2018, the Iron Dome system was voted Israel’s top innovation ever in honor of the country’s 70th Independence Day celebrations.