(Bloomberg) -- Israel prides itself on having some of the best air defenses in the world, but these billion-dollar systems are being tested. Since the Iran-backed Palestinian group Hamas provoked a new war with Israel on Oct. 7, other militant organizations supported by Iran have joined in, launching rockets, missiles and drones at Israel. Iran itself has struck twice, most recently on Oct. 1 with a barrage of roughly 200 missiles.
What are the threats to Israel?
- Iran’s military is thought to have a significant stockpile of ballistic and cruise missiles as well as cheap drones. It deployed all three against Israel when it launched a massive aerial bombardment in April, after blaming Israel for an attack in Syria in which several Iranian officers were killed. Iran’s Oct. 1 ballistic missile barrage followed the killing of senior figures in Hamas and Hezbollah, the Lebanese militia that’s the most powerful of the Iran-allied militant groups in the Middle East.
- Hezbollah and Israel have been exchanging near-daily fire along the Israel-Lebanon border since Oct. 7. Hezbollah has a considerable arsenal of missiles, including long-range and precision-guided ones that could reach deep into Israel and target major cities and strategic assets such as military bases, airports, electricity grids and hospitals, according to Israeli assessments. It also has explosive drones, which have proven more effective at evading Israel’s high-tech defenses than missiles and rockets.
- The Iran-backed Houthi rebels of Yemen also have been firing ballistic missiles and drones at Israel.
What air defenses does Israel have?
- Iron Dome. The most active and well-known of Israel’s air defenses is Iron Dome, which since 2011 has intercepted thousands of rockets fired by Hezbollah and by Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip. The system, developed by Israel’s Rafael Advanced Defense Systems and co-produced since 2014 with the US-based Raytheon Technologies, is designed to counter projectiles and drones with a short range, from 4 kilometers to 70 kilometers (2.5 to 43 miles). Israel’s army says Iron Dome intercepts 90% of such projectiles heading toward populated areas. The Israeli military announced in April that a mobile, maritime version of Iron Dome — known as C-Dome — was operational. It could be used to fend off Hezbollah attacks targeting Israel’s offshore gas fields or ships.
- David’s Sling. In 2017, Israel installed a medium-to-long-range interceptor known as David’s Sling, which was co-developed by Rafael and Raytheon. David’s Sling is designed to detect and destroy ballistic and cruise missiles, as well as drones, at a reported range of up to 200 kilometers. That range covers southern Lebanon as well as Gaza.
- Arrow. Israel also possesses the advanced Arrow missile defense system, made up of Arrow 2 and Arrow 3. Developers have said the Arrow system can intercept missiles fired from up to 2,400 kilometers away and can do it above Earth’s atmosphere, where long-range ballistic missiles spend part of their flight time.
- Iron Beam. Israel’s military is testing another system called Iron Beam, which uses lasers to intercept projectiles fired at close range at less expense than the Iron Dome. Iron Beam is not expected to be operational before mid-2025.
Can these systems be overcome?
Already, Hezbollah has inflicted damage and caused dozens of casualties in northern Israel since October using kamikaze explosive drones, many of which are able to slip through Israel’s defenses.
A Houthi drone attack on Tel Aviv on July 19, which did not trigger any warning alerts, killed a man. Israel’s army says the drone was detected but failed to be intercepted due to “human error.”
What’s more, Israel’s army has acknowledged that its air defenses, including Iron Dome, can be overwhelmed if a large number of projectiles are fired simultaneously. Israel expects Hezbollah could fire some 3,000 rockets and missiles every day during an all-out war, far exceeding the capacity of the systems designed to intercept them.
Some of Israel’s newer air defense systems were only recently battle-tested. Arrow 3, which was jointly developed by Israel Aerospace Industries and Boeing Co., notched its first battlefield success in November 2023 when it shot down a missile fired toward southern Israel by the Houthi rebels. David’s Sling knocked down rockets from Gaza in fighting that erupted in May 2023. Both were successfully used in Iran’s April bombardment of Israel. During that attack, Israel and its allies, including the US and UK, intercepted 99% of the 300 drones and missiles fired at the country, mostly before they entered Israeli airspace. The US again helped intercept the Oct. 1 barrage. Israel and the US said damage from it was limited, but video taken of incoming strikes indicated some got through Israel’s air defenses.
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