Monday, July 21, 2014

What is Israel's Iron Dome and How Does it Work?

Israel’s Iron Dome has played a high profile role in the current conflict with Hamas as the country's military deploys state-of-the-art technology to tackle missile attacks.
The Iron Dome missile defense system, built by the Israeli company Rafael, was initially created in response to the 2006 conflict with the Islamist Lebanon-based group Hezbollah.
Hezbollah launched thousands of rockets that caused dozens of casualties and massive amounts of damage.
The system intended to prevent this sort of devastation again took more than four years to develop and made its combat debut in April 2011.
During Operation Pillar of Defense, the last serious conflict between Israel and Hamas in 2012, Israel stated the system destroyed 84 percent of the rockets headed towards Israeli towns and cities.
Now in Operation Protective Edge, the current Israeli campaign against Hamas in Gaza, the Iron Dome has contended with approximately 1,400 missiles launched into Israel over the course of nine days.
How does Iron Dome work?
Iron Dome functions as part of Israel’s shield against short-range missile threats.
When the enemy, say Hamas in this current conflict, fires a missile or artillery shell at Israel’s territory, radar tracks the incoming threat.
The threat is relayed, the data analyzed and target coordinates sent to the missile firing unit.
Interceptor Tamir missiles are then fired at the enemy’s projectile to eliminate the threat.
Read the rest of the story HERE and watch a related video below:

A Link to a related story below:

Senate panel doubles money for Israel's Iron Dome


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