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Scorecard on Israel's Iron Dome Missile Defense System

(Israel Defense) Amir Rapaport - The most recent round of fighting between Gaza and Israel was a battle between Israel's Iron Dome air defense system and Hamas and Islamic Jihad rockets. Israel sustained four civilian deaths and 150 injuries. Palestinian rockets have been upgraded significantly over the years, with some short-range rockets now carrying dozens of kilograms of explosives, which definitely affected the scope of casualties and damage. At the same time, Iron Dome achieved an interception rate of more than 90% for rockets launched at inhabited areas. This percentage was maintained even when the enemy launched a massive salvo of 117 rockets within one hour at the city of Ashdod. A total of 690 rockets were launched, with 35 reaching populated areas. When Israel first sought to develop Iran Dome, the Defense Ministry had hoped for an interception rate of 70%. During a round of fighting in March, 100% of 50 rockets launched from Gaza were intercepted successfully. "No other system, worldwide, can even come close to the interception percentages of the Iron Dome," said a senior source at Rafael, which developed Iron Dome jointly with IAI. "The number of deaths would have been hundreds of times higher if the Iron Dome had not existed."
2019-05-20 00:00:00
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