By Aryeh Savir/TPS • 12 January, 2020
Israel has successfully upgraded its Iron Dome defense system a decade after the system was first successfully tested, the Ministry of Defense stated Sunday.
“The success of the series is an important milestone in Israel’s operational ability to defend itself against existing and future threats in the arena,” MoD stated.
“In the series of experiments, the system’s capabilities were tested in a new and advanced development, in a number of scenarios, which simulate future threats that the system may face during a confrontation,” the statement added.
The nature of the upgrade was not specified, but it may relate to Hamas’ latest challenge to the system in the form of saturated rocket fire.
The Hamas and Islamic Jihad terror groups carried out a 60-hour attack on Israel in May, during which they fired some 700 rockets at Israeli cities and towns.
Hamas has bragged that its new launching capabilities “can embarrass and challenge the Iron Dome system and maintain the constant fire for 30 hours.”
The terror organization further claimed that its saturated firing methods have overpowered the Iron Dome’s capability to intercept their rockets.
“The Qassam Brigades’ rate of fire in the last round of hostilities was the highest in the history of the confrontation with occupation,” a Hamas official said, noting that the group simultaneously launched 56 rockets towards Ashdod and another 60 towards Ashkelon and Be’er Sheva.
Hamas further announced it will attempt to target the Iron Dome batteries in the next round of violence.
the Iron Dome is a key component of Israel’s multilayered defense system. The air defense system has a very high success rate and proved its day-to-day operational efficiency in protecting the residents of the country.
To date, the system has performed more than 2,400 successful operational intercepts with about a 90% success rate.
Israel over the years has developed a multi-layered defense system to contend with the ever-evolving ballistic projectile threats from Iran, the Gaza Strip and Hezbollah in Lebanon.
The defense system is based on four operational layers: the Iron Dome Defense System for close-range projectiles, David’s Sling Weapon System designed to contend with mid-range missiles, the Arrow-2, and the Arrow-3, for long-range missiles.