Israel’s Iron Dome is an air defense system developed by the Israeli firms Rafael Advanced Defense Systems and Israel Aerospace Industries, with financial and technical support from the United States. First put into service in 2011, it is designed to stop short-range rockets and artillery like those fired from Gaza.
Iron Dome relies on a system of radar and analysis to determine whether an incoming rocket is a threat, firing an interceptor only if the incoming rocket risks hitting a populated area or important infrastructure.
Iron Dome is composed of three fundamental elements
>A detection and tracking radar [developed by Israeli defence company Elta]
>A battle management and weapon control system (BMC) [ built by an Israeli software company mPrest Systems, engaged by Rafael]
>A missile firing unit (MFU) [Tamir Missile-the main interceptor of Iron Dome System]
The system has been developed to counter very short range rockets and 155mm artillery shell threats with ranges of up to 70km. It can be operated in all weather conditions including fog, dust storm, low clouds and rain.