Air Defense System "Iron Dome"

Short-range air defense

Rafael Advanced Defense Systems designed this system to defend populated areas and critical assets with the Iron Dome Weapon System. It's the world's most-used system, intercepting more than 1,500 incoming targets with a success rate exceeding 90 percent since being fielded in 2011.

Iron Dome detects, assesses and intercepts a variety of shorter-range targets such as rockets, artillery and mortars. It is effective day or night and in all weather conditions including low clouds, rain, dust storms and fog. It features a first-of-its-kind multi-mission launcher designed to fire a variety of interceptor missiles.

Iron Dome's Tamir missile knocks down incoming threats launched from ranges of 4-70 km. Tamir missiles feature electro-optical sensors and steering fins with proximity fuze blast warheads. The majority of Tamir missile components are procured through the Raytheon Missiles & Defense supply chain in the United States.

Ten Iron Dome batteries protect the citizens and infrastructure of Israel, with each battery comprising three to four stationary launchers, 20 Tamir missiles and a battlefield radar. Each of the batteries can defend up to nearly 60 square miles, and are strategically placed around cities to intercept threats headed toward populated areas. The intelligent Iron Dome system ignores incoming threats it determines will land in uninhabited areas, thereby minimizing unnecessary defensive launches and lowering operation costs.

In 2019, the U.S. Army announced its intent to buy two Iron Dome batteries to fill a need for an interim capability. Given interest by the U.S. and several other nations in Iron Dome's unique capabilities, Raytheon Missiles & Defense has debuted the SkyHunter^® system in cooperation with Rafael. Based on Iron Dome, SkyHunter can be produced in the United States to expand availability and capacity for the U.S. and its allies.

These systems protect at the lowest layer, and Raytheon Missiles & Defense is also teamed with Rafael on the David's Sling System, which defends at higher layers.