Iron Dome Missile Defense System

The chronicle provides the dates of publication in the sources indicated below.

14.05.2010 The Pentagon has notified the Israel Defense Ministry that US President Barack Obama has approved the allocation of $205mn for the deployment of the Iron Dome system. The Israeli government announced that the allocated funds will be used to purchase 10-15 Iron Dome batteries.  During the first phase of the Israeli ABM project more than $800mn was spent on it, including expenses for training specialists. The mass media published information on attracting investors from a third country for participation in the BMD program (according to French media - Singapore).

20.07.2010 Israel Defense Ministry announced successful completion of Iron Dome BMD system tests.

27.03.2011 The first Iron Dome complex was put on combat duty near Be'er Sheva town 35 km away from Gaza.

07.04.2011 For the first time an unguided missile fired from the Gaza Strip was intercepted.

08.04.2011 The second Iron Dome battery is deployed near Ashkelon (see image 1, image 2).

03.06.2011 Two Iron Dome complexes deployed in test operation intercepted eight of the nine unguided rockets that were launched.

09.12.2011 The Iron Dome battery intercepted a 122 mm Grad rocket launched from the Gaza Strip in the Kiryat Malachi area. The intercepted missile was one of 18, launched from 8 to 10 December. The remaining projectiles of various types fell in the western Negev desert without causing damage.

29.12.2011 Report about the incident during the operation of the Iron Dome system, during which 20 Tamir interceptor missiles fell out of the launcher and fell in the immediate vicinity of soldiers.

06.01.2012 Results of the analysis of the Iron Dome system combat application in 2011 were published. Three deployed batteries successfully intercepted 33 of the 47 missiles launched from the Gaza Strip. In April, the Iron Dome system intercepted 8 of 10 missiles, in August - 22 of 28 and in October - 3 of 9. Two Israelis died as a result of the missiles they did not intercept. The system's failure in October 2011 resulted from the failure of the multifunction radar.

10.03.2012 Rockets continued to be fired into Israeli territory. In an hour and a half 13 rockets were fired at Israeli territory, most of them at settlements in the Western Negev. The last volley of six rockets hit Sderot and Eshkol district. Seven rockets were fired at Netivot and seven were fired into the West Negev. One missile was hit by an Iron Dome missile defense system.

12.03.2012 The IDF Air Force Command's report stated that since March 9, the Iron Dome has struck up to 85% of rockets fired from the Gaza Strip (in total, the IDF has estimated that over 220 rockets have been fired).During the course of March 12 alone, the Iron Dome has struck 26 "kasam" and "hail" rockets. Thus, according to the most conservative estimates, the expenditures on missile defense amounted to about $10mn.

02.05.2012 Rafael and Raytheon announced the creation of a consortium to promote the Iron Dome system in the US market. The companies estimate that the system may be used to create an advanced missile defense system for the US Army. It is expected that the Iron Dome will be used in the USA together with the C-RAM system.

17.11.2012 In Gush-Dan district due to escalation of situation the fifth battery of Iron Dome was deployed ahead of schedule and started its combat duty. As of November 17, four batteries that were in operation so far intercepted about 250 missiles. The new battery will be able to detect rocket attacks towards Gush Dan and Jerusalem and shoot down medium-range missiles. According to Israeli experts, the Iron Dome system has significantly changed the situation in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict zone by providing effective interception of rockets aimed at Be'er-Sheva, Ashdod, Ashkelon, Netivot and other cities. The first successful interception of the unguided Fajar shell launched towards Tel Aviv has been reported.

13.08.2013 The press office of the Israel Defense Forces announced the successful interception of an unguided rocket that was fired at the resort town of Eilat. "The missile defense system "Iron Dome" was activated, which shot down the missile. There were no casualties or damage," the press service added. This is the first case of antimissile batteries combat application in the Eilat area.

18.07.2014 Attempt to bombard central Israel from Palestinian territory. The Iron Dome missile defense system shot down at least two missiles over Gush Dan and two more over Sharon district. At least four rockets were fired at Be'er-Sheva and surrounding settlements, three of which were shot down by the Iron Dome system.

28.07.2014 The Israel Defense Forces spokesman reported that an early warning system for a missile attack in Upper Galilee towns was falsely triggered because fireworks were launched on Lebanese territory in commemoration of the Eid al-Fitr Muslim holiday.