Iron Dome air defence system in action against Hamas & Islamic Jihad rockets

Videos on social media showed rockets fired from Gaza being intercepted by the Israeli Iron Dome air defence system. It appeared that the rockets were hitting an invisible shield. Hamas & Islamic Jihad terrorists is believed to have launched more than 1,000 rockets at Israel.

In the conflict between Israel and Palestine, both sides have taken to air strikes and rocket attacks. On Tuesday evening, videos on social media showed rockets fired from Gaza being intercepted by the Israeli Iron Dome air defence system. It appeared that the rockets were hitting an invisible shield.

   

WHAT IS IRON DOME?: Israel’s Iron Dome is an air defence system developed by the Israeli firms Rafael Advanced Defence Systems and Israel Aerospace Industries, with financial and technical support from the United States.


WHO MADE IRON DOME?: Developed by Israel Aerospace Industries and Rafael Advanced Defence Systems with financial and technical support from the US, Iron Dome is an air defence system designed to stop short-range rockets and mortar artillery shells and the kind.


HOW DOES IRON DOME WORK?: When enemy rockets are fired, Iron Dome's radar system quickly analyses the projectile's path and declare them threatening or non-threatening. If the rocket is certain to hit populated parts of Israel, an interceptor is launched to neutralise the rocket while it is still in the air.


HOW OLD IS IRON DOME SYSTEM?: Deployed for the first time in 2011, the Iron Dome systems remain pivotal in defending Israel's civilian areas from rocket attacks by Hamas.


WHAT DOES IRON DOME DO?: The air defence system consists of two parts named David’s Sling and Arrow. While David’s Sling's 'Stunner' missiles are designed to intercept ballistic missiles at low altitude, the Arrow system is armed with motor-divert capability and a kill vehicle that can switch directions. Hence Iron Dome is capable of dealing with both medium- and long-range threats, including missiles, rockets, drones and even planes.


HOW ARE INTERCEPTORS LAUNCHED?: With the simple logic of destroying enemy projectiles mid-air before they can cause any damage, Iron Dome launches vertically positioned interceptors that activate warning sirens to alert civilians when launched.

IS 

IRON DOME MOBILE?: Yes. It is capable of launching interceptors from both movable units or static launch sites like regular rockets. Iron Dome system is often moved around Israeli borders when a threat arises and are even attached to the Naval vessels of the country. The mobility helps Israeli forces to deploy is closer to the path of the incoming rockets, making it more effective.


HOW ADVANCED IS THE MODERN IRON DOME?: According to Israeli defence sources, Iron Dome's software is constantly updated and has successfully increased its kill rate, while the hardware unit remains largely unchanged since induction.


HOW EFFECTIVE IS MODERN IRON DOME?: Israel claims the system has stopped thousands of enemy launches from hitting targets, with a success rate of more than 90 per cent.