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Source: http://www.defensenews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2014307120022
Israel Readies First U.S. Co-Production Order for Iron Dome
(Defense News) Barbara Opall-Rome - Israel fielded its seventh Iron Dome intercepting battery under fire last week in an operational debut that destroyed five Gaza-launched rockets headed for the nation's economic and cultural heart of Tel Aviv. In its escalating campaign against Hamas and other Gaza-based groups, the Israeli-developed and U.S.-funded Iron Dome - with an estimated success rate of 90 percent - is demonstrating game-changing value against asymmetrical threats, Israeli officials say. As Rafael works on the eighth battery in parallel to fast-tracked production of intercepting missiles, it is preparing to receive the first Defense Ministry procurement contract for U.S.-based builds in support of Iron Dome. The firm recently finalized an agreement making Raytheon its U.S. partner in co-production of major components for the Iron Dome's Tamir intercepting missile.