What is the Iron Dome, the defense system used by Israel against Iranian drone attacks

“Dozens of drones” which quickly became several hundred aerial devices. This was the warning voice sent by the Israeli military when it confirmed that drones were starting their journey from Iran into the country. Against that threat, they already had a ready response: “Iron Dome”. This is the defensive system that they activated immediately after Sunday (local time), to stop the legion of drones that were entering their territory.

Known as the Dome wave Iron domethis advanced technological system works as projectile launch detector within a radius of 4 to 70 kilometers. It determines whether the trajectory of the projectile – in this case Iranian drones – damages populated areas or important monuments on Israeli territory.

The dome’s response is automated: when faced with the threat, fired another Tamir interceptor missile to blast the intruder out of the air.

This is what happened this Sunday, a few minutes before 2 am (local time), when the first lights began to be seen in the sky over Israel, as can be seen from dozens of videos on social networks. As the Army had predicted, the entry of the drones into the country’s airspace triggered alarms and sirens, so the inhabitants ran to take refuge in the bunkers. Meanwhile, the authorities intercepted the drones thanks to their Iron Dome.

This mobile system, also called battery, is made up of three elements that protect the Middle Eastern country: a detection and tracking radarA weapons control and battle management system is one missile launch unit.

The radar detects with different levels of tracking and monitors the launch of rockets, the control system calculates the impact point, and if it is in an important position, a missile is launched to stop the enemy projectile, and its payload explodes in a place where no harm will occur. Plus, it works in any weather condition.

The first battery was installed on March 27, 2011 near the city of Beersheba. And a few days later, the first Grad missile launched from Gaza was successfully intercepted. As of 2021, Israel had 10 mobile batteries to completely cover the territory.

Last October it was put to the test following the terrorist attack by Hamas militants in southern Israel.

The Dome was developed by the company Rafael Advanced Defense Systems (known as Rafael), with the economic support from the United States.

According to a statement from the Congressional Research Service (CRS), as of March 2023 the North American country had provided Israel with $3 billion for the interceptors, batteries, production costs and general maintenance of the dome.

The Iron Dome is considered one of the most advanced defense systems in the world.