Limits To Israel's Iron Dome Anti-Missile System

Major General Eyal Eisenberg said the success of Iron Dome rockets in November's conflict with Gaza had given the Israeli public a false sense of security. Photograph: Nir Elias/Reuters

Israel's Anti-Missile System 'Likely To Leave Civilians Exposed In Event Of War' -- The Guardian

IDF has insufficient number of Iron Dome batteries to protect military sites and civilian areas from Hezbollah, says commander.

Israel's vaunted missile defence system is likely to leave the civilian population exposed to an incoming barrage of rockets in the event of a war as it is deployed to protect key strategic and military sites, according the country's commander of the home front.

Despite the success of the Iron Dome anti-missile batteries at intercepting rockets launched from Gaza during November's eight-day conflict, the five units currently operational are insufficient to protect against the superior firepower of Hezbollah in Lebanon.

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My Comment: An acknowledgement on the limits of Israel's Iron Dome system. Interestingly .... this follows recent reports from critics who believe that the Iron Dome system's kill-rate capability is over-rated.

is Israel's Iron Dome Success Rate 'Overblown'?

Israel's Iron Dome: Doubts Over Success Rate -- BBC

A leading US expert on missile defence has raised doubts about the efficacy of Israel's Iron Dome defence system.

Israeli officials say it hit some 84% of the targets engaged in last year's conflict with Hamas in Gaza.

But Professor Theodore Postol of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology suggests the defence system's success rate may have been "drastically lower".

The success of the Iron Dome was one of the most significant military aspects of Israel's brief campaign.

During this upsurge in fighting - dubbed Operation Pillar of Defence by the Israeli military - Israeli aircraft, drones and artillery bombarded Palestinian targets, while Palestinian groups fired over 1,400 rockets into Israel.

The Iron Dome missile defence system - built by the Israeli company, Rafael, but largely funded by the US - was rushed into service to defend against the Palestinian missile threat.

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More News On Reports That Israel's Iron Dome System Is Not As Successful As It Seems

Success of Israel's Iron Dome missile defense system questioned -- Digital Journal
US and Israeli experts say Iron Dome hit only 5% of Gaza rockets -- Middle East Monitor
MIT: Israel’s ‘Iron Dome’ Success Likely a Myth -- Antiwar.com
Iron Dome System Failed Miserably – OpEd -- Eurasia Review

My Comment: The Israelis are denying these claims.

Behind The Iron Dome

Behind The Iron Dome: Key Engineer Tells How Israeli Defense System Saved Lives -- FOX News

HAIFA, Israel – If there was one clear winner in the latest round of hostilities between Israel and Hamas, it was the Iron Dome -- the Jewish state's complex defense system that plucks rockets out of the sky before they can threaten civilian targets.

As daily rocket attacks from Gaza leapt from a handful to hundreds earlier this month, the vaunted system was deployed to near universal praise, intercepting an estimated 400 potentially deadly missiles. In an exclusive interview with FoxNews.com, "Ari," an Iron Dome engineer whose real name is being withheld, described what it is like to be part of the team of cutting edge technology developers, and the challenges faced by the team at Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, which worked with two other Israeli companies, Elta, and mPrest Systems on the program.

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Previous Post: A Look At Israel's Iron Dome Missile Defense System (Updated)

My Comment: It has a high success rate .... a fact that I suspect is surprising a lot of military pundits around the world.

Buyers For Israel's Iron Dome?

Israel’s Antimissile System Attracts Potential Buyers -- New York Times

WASHINGTON — The success cited by Israel for its Iron Dome antimissile system in its confrontation with Hamas has re-energized American missile defense advocates and generated new interest in the global arms bazaar from nations like South Korea that face short-range rocket threats from hostile neighbors.

But even ardent supporters of a continent-size missile shield to guard the United States and other NATO members acknowledge the limitations of Iron Dome, which is a tactical system designed to shoot down unsophisticated rockets — basically flying pipe bombs — with a range of less than 50 miles.

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My Comment: Too early to state unequivocally that Iron Dome is a success .... but it does look promising.

With U.S. Backing, Israel Tests More Powerful Rocket Interceptors

David's Sling, also known as the "Magic Wand" system, can intercept mid-range missiles. Photo by Haaretz

Israel Says Successfully Tests More Powerful Rocket Interceptor -- Reuters

(Reuters) - A new Israeli air shield against rockets more powerful than those intercepted by Iron Dome in the Gaza conflict passed its first field test last week after being rushed through development, officials said on Sunday.

They said that David's Sling, billed as Israel's answer to the longer-range missiles of Lebanese Hezbollah guerrillas and Syria, shot down a target rocket in a secret November 20 desert trial that coincided with fierce shelling exchanges between Israel and Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

Worried about deteriorating security on the fronts with Gaza, Lebanon and Syria, and the international showdown over the disputed nuclear program of arch-foe Iran, Israel has been accelerating work on its multi-tier missile shield, with extensive help from the United States.

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More News On Israel's Rocket Interceptor Program

Israel successfully tests missile defense system -- AP
Israel's David's Sling defense system intercepts mid-range missile in first trial -- Haaretz
Israel successfully tests Magic Wand system -- YNet News
Israel reports success in new missile defence test -- AFP
Israel tests new weapon, but gap remains -- UPI
Israel Successfully Tests David's Sling Defense System -- RIA Novosti
Israel conducts first interception test of David’s Sling -- World Tribune
Israel Successfully Test Fires ‘David’s Sling’ Missile Defense System -- Eurasia Review/RT
U.S.-Israel Missile System Scores First Intercept -- Defense News
Israel developing next-generation missile defense system with help from Raytheon -- Boston.com
Longer-range Israel rocket interceptor seen ready within 3 years -- Reuters
Israel’s Iron Dome is the hero of the hour, but bigger challenges lie ahead -- Haaretz
Iron Dome’s Lessons for the U.S. -- Mark Thompson, Time
How did Iron Dome perform over course of Gaza clash? -- Mark Urban, BBC
Why Israel's "Iron Dome" Missile-Defense System Actually Works -- MIT Technology Review

The Company Behind Israel's Iron Dome

How to Stop Missiles: The Company Behind Israel's Iron Dome -- Bloomberg Businesweek

The success of Israel’s Iron Dome in shooting down missiles fired from Gaza has a lot to do with a company you’ve probably never heard of: mPrest Systems. The company, led by a retired Israeli naval captain named Natan Barak, makes the smarts of Iron Dome. According to the company’s website, its computer technology performs “air awareness picture building, target classification, calculating interception programs and controlling launch and interception processes.”

The system has stopped roughly 90 percent of incoming missiles, not counting the hundreds that it let through deliberately because it was clear they would land in unoccupied areas, according to a spokesman for the Israeli Ministry of Defense. Iron Dome has undoubtedly saved the lives of Israeli citizens. It has probably saved the lives of people in Gaza as well, because without the shield in place there would have been an outcry from the Israeli public for a ground invasion of Gaza to root out the missile launchers. That would have caused many more deaths on both sides.

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My Comment: For more info on how Israel's Iron Dome system works, go here. America's stake in the system is explained here. More background information on the companies that developed the Iron Dome system can be read here. Hopes for developing the Iron Dome platform into a better system can be read here. mPrest Systems' website is here.

Why The Success Of Israel's Iron Dome Is A Big Thing

The Dangerous Success Of Iron Dome -- David Horovitz, Times of Israel

You can bet that even as Hamas and its sponsors are recovering from the shock of clanging into Israel’s new missile shield, they are contemplating fresh ways to kill us. Those drafting the Pillar of Defense ceasefire terms mustn’t make it easy for them

Remember Amir Peretz? He’s the abundantly moustached former trade union chief who led the Labor Party into the 2006 elections and found himself, by the peculiar machinations of Israel’s ridiculous electoral system, installed as defense minister despite a conspicuous absence of high-level defense expertise. He’s the man who misguidedly trusted then-chief of General Staff Dan Halutz’s assurances that Hezbollah could be destroyed from the air in the mismanaged 2006 Second Lebanon War. He’s the buffoon who was photographed gravely viewing IDF military maneuvers on the Golan Heights five years ago through binoculars from which he had neglected to remove the lens caps.

Actually, I’m not talking about that Amir Peretz. I’m talking about the other Amir Peretz. Amir Peretz, the Sderot resident who had the wisdom and guts to defy Israel’s macho military thinkers and insist, when serving as defense minister, that Israel press ahead with the development of the Iron Dome missile defense system to protect his hometown and the other Gaza-envelope communities from Hamas’s relentless rocket attacks.

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Previous Post: A Look At Israel's Iron Dome Missile Defense System (Updated)

My Comment: I stil believe that it is too early to call the Iron Dome program a success .... but it is surely surprising a lot of people .... this blogger included.

A Look At Israel's Iron Dome Missile Defense System (Updated)

How Israel's Iron Dome Missile Defence System Works -- CBC

n response to repeated rocket attacks from the Palestinian territory of Gaza over the past few years, Israel has deployed a missile defence system called Iron Dome.

What is it?

Iron Dome is a missile-defense system developed by Rafael Advanced Defense Systems Ltd., an Israeli military contractor, in conjunction with the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF). It is designed to intercept incoming rockets, long-range artillery and aircraft, and destroy them in the air before they reach populated areas.

In 2007, then-Israeli defense minister Amir Peretz announced that Iron Dome was the government’s choice for dealing with the threat from short-range missiles. Iron Dome was first deployed in March 2011 to thwart missiles being launched into Israel by Hamas militants in Gaza.

According to Israeli officials, Iron Dome has had a 90 per cent success rate in destroying Hamas rockets fired into populated areas.

There are currently five different Iron Dome installations, all located in southern Israel, the general target of most of Hamas rockets thus far.

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More News On Israel's Iron Dome System

How Israel’s ‘Iron Dome’ Knocks Almost Every Incoming Missile Out Of The Sky -- Popular Science
How does the Iron Dome work? -- Haaretz
Iron Dome rocket smasher set to change Gaza conflict -- New Scientist
What Is Israel’s Iron Dome? -- Gizmodo
Gaza conflict tests Israeli defense system -- Washington Post
Covering Israel with an "Iron Dome" -- CBS
A Look at Israel's 'Iron Dome' Missile Defense -- AP
Israel’s ‘Iron Dome’ and how it works -- Niti Central
Israel's Iron Dome blocks Gaza barrage -- UPI
Israel’s Iron Dome: The Ultimate Missile Destroyer -- Daily Beast
Israelis put faith in Iron Dome missile defence system -- The Guardian
Israel conflict: What is Iron Dome? -- Washington Post
Israel's Iron Dome missile shield -- BBC
How Israel's Iron Dome missile defense works -- Washington Post
Tel Aviv saved by Iron Dome intercept -- Reuters
Barak seeks NIS 750 million to speed delivery of Iron Dome systems -- Haaretz
Israeli missile-makers strive to meet Iron Dome demand -- Reuters
Israel's Iron Dome alters the battlefield as Hamas boosts arsenal -- The National
Israel's Iron Dome provides cover, but not normalcy (+video) -- Christian Science Monitor
Iron Dome: Missile defense system a game changer, Israelis say -- CNN
Gaza conflict: Is Israel’s Iron Dome a game-changer? -- Kate Allen, Toronto Star
Beyond Iron Dome: Israeli tech is America’s hope -- Arthur Herman, New York Post
Israel's Iron Dome
A breakout performance for missile defense. -- Wall Street Journal
Iron Dome Spoils The Hamas Surprise Attack -- Strategy Page
Why Everyone Should Root for Iron Dome -- Seth Mandel, Commentary
How Israel’s Iron Dome won the war -- Jonathan Kay, National Post

A Look At Israel's Iron Dome System

Israeli Iron Dome Stops A Rocket With A Rocket -- New York Times

JERUSALEM — An abiding image of the former Israel defense minister Amir Peretz was a photograph of him peering at a military drill — with the black lens caps still on his binoculars. Mr. Peretz resigned months after the 2006 war in Lebanon, which was widely regarded as a failure.

Yet on Sunday, as rockets fired by Gaza militants streaked toward Tel Aviv, Ashdod and other Israeli cities, Mr. Peretz, a resident of the rocket-battered border town of Sderot, was being hailed as a defense visionary for having had the foresight while in office to face down myriad skeptics and push for the development of Iron Dome, Israel’s unique anti-rocket interceptor system.

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More News On Israel's Iron Dome

Gaza conflict tests Israeli defense system -- Washington Post
Covering Israel with an "Iron Dome" -- CBS
A Look at Israel's 'Iron Dome' Missile Defense -- AP
Israel’s Iron Dome: The Ultimate Missile Destroyer -- Daily Beast
Israel conflict: What is Iron Dome? -- Washington Post
Israel's Iron Dome missile shield -- BBC
How Israel's Iron Dome missile defense works -- Washington Post
Tel Aviv saved by Iron Dome intercept -- Reuters
Barak seeks NIS 750 million to speed delivery of Iron Dome systems -- Haaretz
Israel's Iron Dome provides cover, but not normalcy (+video) -- Christian Science Monitor
Iron Dome: Missile defense system a game changer, Israelis say -- CNN

Israeli Wedding Video Shows Iron Dome Taking Out Rockets

Israeli Wedding Video Shows Missile Defense Taking Out Rockets -- Business Insider

Never having lived in Israel I can only imagine the cautionary acceptance that must come with being under the constant threat of attack. Most apartment buildings have bomb shelters that are supposed to be resistant to chemical attacks, while air raid maps outline how long residents have to take cover once the alert is sounded.

Imagine a first date, taking a child to school, visiting grandparents and getting stuck in traffic — all under the constant possibility of an incoming attack.

Imagining life under those circumstances, along with this video, could go a long way to helping understand why Israel's Iron Dome is so important and why the U.S. spent so much money helping build it.

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My Comment: It is heavily censored .... but still cool.

Update: How Israel's Iron Dome Takes Out Incoming Rockets -- Business Insider

A U.S. Version Of Israel's Iron Dome

Some U.S. Lawmakers Push For Iron Dome Coproduction -- Aviation Week

Israel's new “Iron Dome” counter-rocket, artillery and mortar system has racked up a success rate above 80% since being fielded last year, but its weak link—as with most missile defense systems—is too few interceptors.

Israel plans to solve this problem in the short term by doubling the Rafael's Tamir interceptor manufacturing capacity. But some U.S. lawmakers are pushing the Pentagon to step in and coproduce the missile on U.S. soil, not only as a backstop for the Israel Defense Forces' supply but as a domestic capability that could protect deployed soldiers.

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My Comment: An 80% success rate is excellent. I would be happy with even a 50% rate.

Israel To Deploy Iron Dome System On Egyptian Border

Israel To Deploy Iron Dome System On Egyptian Border -- Haaretz

Rocket intercepting system to be set up near Eilat after the border with Egypt grows tense since a popular uprising ousted Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak last year.

Israel said on Wednesday it would deploy a battery of Iron Dome rocket interceptors at a southern frontier town opposite Egypt, a move that follows cross-border attacks in the area.

Israeli media reported that it was the first time the interceptors, which have been used against Palestinian rocket attacks from the Gaza Strip, were being set up at Eilat, near Israel's borders with Egypt and Jordan.

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My Comment: These batteries will be aimed against rockets coming from Egypt. Another example on how tense the Israeli - Egyptian border is becoming since the election of a Muslim Brotherhood President.

U.S. Provides Additional Funding For Israel's 'Iron Dome'

Photo: Iron Dome system. Flash 90

US To Bolster Israel's 'Iron Dome' -- The Telegraph

The US will bolster an Israeli anti-rocket system with $70 million (£44 million) in assistance this year, with more funding likely in the future, Leon Panetta, the Defence Secretary said.

The "Iron Dome" air defence network has been credited with thwarting Palestinian militant rocket and mortar attacks out of Gaza.

"My goal is to ensure Israel has the funding it needs each year to produce these batteries that can protect its citizens," the Pentagon chief said in a statement after meeting with his Israeli counterpart, Ehud Barak.

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More News On U.S. Support Of Israel's 'Iron Dome'

US giving Israel $70 million more for Iron Dome -- AP
U.S. eyes funding boost for Israel's "Iron Dome" shield -- Reuters
Barak thanks Panetta for US aid on Iron Dome -- Jerusalem Post
US to transfer additional $70M for Israel's Iron Dome -- YNet News
US pledges additional $70M for Israel's Iron Dome missile defense -- The Hill
Is U.S. going too far to help Israel? -- Miami Herald/Washington Post

U.S. Agrees To Fund Israel's 'Iron Dome'

Photo: Marc Israel Sellem

Israel’s Barak Heads To U.S. For Iron Dome Funding Talks -- Bloomberg

Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak left today for Washington to hold discussions with U.S. Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta aimed in part at reaping new funds for a missile-defense system developed to protect Israel.

Barak’s meeting with Panetta on May 17 is intended to include an agreement on more U.S. funding for the Israeli-made Iron Dome system, according to a ministry official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn’t authorized to comment in advance. The defense chiefs also will confer on regional security issues, the official said.

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More News On U.S. - Israeli Military/Iron Dome Funding Talks

Israel's Barak heads to Pentagon for defence talks -- Business Recorder/AFP
Pentagon to unveil funding for Israel -- UPI
US to announce massive Iron Dome package -- Jerusalem Post
Israel to receive over $900 million for anti-missile systems -- Times of Israel

Washington Allocates A Billion US$ To Support Israel’s Iron Dome

Photo: An Iron Dome launcher fires an interceptor rocket. Reuters

Washington Allocates A Billion US$ To Support Israel’s Active Rocket & Missile Defenses -- Defense Update

The US House Appropriations Defense Subcommittee included multiple allocations with a total amount of $947 million in the next year budget (FY 2013) to support Israel’s multi-level active rocket and missile defense programs. This is the highest single-year Appropriation ever for Iron Dome, David’s Sling, and Arrow.

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More News On The US House Appropriations Defense Subcommittee Wanting To Allocate $1 Billion To Israel's Iron Dome System

House panel OKs $1B for Israel's missiles -- UPI
US to allocate $1B to Iron Dome -- YNet News
Congress Allocates $1 Billion for Iron Dome -- Israel National News
Congressman Rothman: Nearly $1 Billion For Missile And Rocket Defense Systems For Israel – Statement -- Eurasia Review

U.S. Wants Development Rights To Israel's Iron Dome Weapon Tech

The first Iron Dome anti-rocket system, was deployed on 'operational evaluation' near Beer Sheva in the Israeli Negev desert. Weeks later it successfully engaged multiple salvos of 122mm rockets fired from Gaza at the city. Photo: Noam Eshel, Defense Update.

House Lawmakers Want Rights To Iron Dome Weapon Tech -- The Hill

Defense lawmakers in the House have agreed to invest millions of dollars in the Iron Dome anti-missile weapon for Israel, as long as the United States can acquire the development rights to the weapon system.

Members of the House Armed Services Strategic Forces subcommittee elected to set aside $680 million to assist Tel Aviv in buying the Iron Dome weapon in its version of the fiscal 2013 defense spending bill.

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Update: US Wants a Stake in Israel’s Iron Dome Technology -- Defense Update

My Comment: Congress is right to demand these rights. If we are paying for it .... we should have first dibs on what comes out of it.

US Congress May Spend $680 Million On Israeli Missile Shield

Photo: An Iron Dome battery. Reuters

Tempering Iron Dome: US May Spend $680 Million On Israeli Missile Shield -- RT

The US could fork out $680 million on strengthening the Israeli Iron Dome rocket shield. To help Israelis defend themselves, the Republicans are seeking to stretch an already enormous US military budget a little bit more.

­The plan to push for funding for Israel’s Iron Dome was disclosed by two congressional staff members, Reuters reports. The Obama administration earlier announced that an “appropriate” level of funding will be provided for this program, but did not request any specific sum for 2012, and thus Congress has not appropriated funds for it.

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More News On Congress Wanting To Spend $680 Million On Israeli Missile Shield

U.S. Republicans seek to provide Israel with $680 million for Iron Dome anti-missile system -- Haaretz
GOP Backing $680M for Iron Dome -- Arutz Sheva
US House proposes $680m for Iron Dome -- Globes
Republicans eye $680 million for Israel's "Iron Dome" shield -- Reuters
$680m US fund for Israel’s Iron Dome -- Arab News/AP

My Comment: U.S. programs are cut .... Israel's gets boosted. I call this election politics in an election year.

Iron Dome Is A Success Story In Israel

Iron Dome Battery outside Beersheba (Photo: Herzl Yosef)

Iron Dome’s Crucial Gaza Test -- Leor Sapir, Commentary

Earlier this month, Palestinian militants fired approximately 300 rockets and mortar shells into Israel’s southern population centers. The ensuing escalation left more than 20 Palestinian militants dead, and about the same number of Israelis wounded. The barrage ensued after Israel killed Zuhir al-Qaisi, head of the Popular Resistance Committees in Gaza, who had been planning an attack on Israeli civilians similar to that of 2011, which left eight Israelis dead. He was also one of the masterminds behind the 2006 kidnapping of Gilad Shalit. But the most important result of this exchange is that the fighting resulted in a crucial test of the Iron Dome missile defense system.

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My Comment: 20 years ago this was all a dream .... now .... it is a reality.

Israel’s ‘Iron Dome’ Missile Defense System Has A 85% Success Rate

A Tamir missile fired by an Iron Dome fire unit near Ashkelon, Israel, intercepting a Palestinian 122mm Grad rocket fired at the city. The iron Dome has repeatedly intercepted Palestinian rockets since its first deployment in April 2011, demonstrating impressive score. Photo via RAFAEL

Israel’s ‘Iron Dome’ Missile Defense System Hits 85% Of Targets -- Washington Times

Israel’s cutting-edge missile defense called Iron Dome scored an 85 percent success rate in knocking out rockets launched against Israel’s southern cities in recent clashes with Gaza.



“Iron Dome in April became the first anti-ballistic missile system to be used in combat,” said Michael Oren, Israel’s ambassador to the United States.



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More News On Israel's Iron Dome System

Rafael Team with Raytheon to Offer Iron Dome in the U.S. -- Defense-Update

Raytheon-Rafael get boost for Iron Dome -- UPI

Israel lauds success of Iron Dome missile interceptor -- Reuters

Rafael to double Iron Dome production -- Globes

Israel's Iron Dome system reassures nation on Gaza -- Christian Science Monitor

How To Beat Iron Dome -- Strategy Page

Israel's Iron Dome System Being Tested To The Max From Gaza Rocket Fire

Israeli Defense Sources: Gaza Terror Groups Changing Tactics To Avoid Iron Dome System -- Haaretz

Terror groups attempt to break through the intercept system's defenses by firing a particularly large volley of rockets at Be'er Sheva, where one of the batteries is deployed.



The terror organizations in the Gaza Strip have changed their rocket-launch tactics in an attempt to evade the two Iron Dome anti-missile batteries deployed by the Israel Air Force in southern Israel, security sources say. The new tactics include aiming more frequently at areas beyond the Iron Dome protection range.



On Saturday, the terror groups attempted to break through the intercept system's defenses by firing a particularly large volley of rockets at Be'er Sheva, where one of the batteries is deployed. The Defense Ministry, for its part, has accelerated its timetable in order to double the number of available batteries within six months.



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My Comment: The system appears to be working, hence the request for more batteries.