What Makes Iron Dome SO Special?

With tensions rising between Israel and Hamas, the effectiveness of the Iron Dome air defense system has once again come under the spotlight. On April 6, 2023, 34 rockets were fired at Israel from Lebanon, with 25 of them being intercepted by Iron Dome. Israel has blamed Hamas for the attack and responded with airstrikes against targets in Gaza the following day. 

But what is Iron Dome and why is it considered unique? 

Developed by two Israeli firms with support from the U.S., Iron Dome is often touted as the world's strongest air defense system. However, its effectiveness depends on how one defines "air defense."

An air defense system is a network of technologies and strategies that are designed to detect, track, and intercept incoming enemy aircraft or missiles. These systems are critical for protecting military bases, cities, and other strategic targets from airborne attacks. They can include a range of components, such as radar systems, anti-aircraft guns, surface-to-air missiles, and command and control centers. The goal of an air defense system is to deny the enemy's ability to successfully deliver an airborne attack and to protect friendly forces and civilian populations.

The system only protects against rockets and mortar shells. It's not meant to intercept missiles or larger aircraft. However, rocket shelling is the most persistent threat in Israel. No other country has a comparable system in place. But Iron Dome has its limitations. The system consists of three parts. One is a radar that detects incoming rockets. Then there is a command-and-control system. It determines the threat level. Finally, an interceptor seeks to destroy the incoming rockets before it strikes. According to Israeli officials, Iron Dome is 90% effective. In May 2022, terrorists fired more than 4,300 rockets from Gaza into Israel. More than 1,500 of them targeted heavily populated areas. Iron Dome shot down 90% of those rockets. The system can hit missiles up to 43 miles away. It was initially deployed in 2011. 

What makes Iron Dome so useful is its tracking capability? 

Rockets are typically fired in barrages. Intercepting every rocket in an artillery barrage is impossible. But Iron Dome maps the trajectory of each incoming target. Then it determines if it's heading toward an urban area. Only then will it attempt to intercept it. It's not just a matter of prioritizing. The system is prohibitively expensive. Each interceptor missile costs between $40,000 to $50,000. The rockets designed to destroy cost about $800 a pop. Thus Iron Dome is only effective in terms of intercepting rates. Financially, it's so inefficient that Israel is constantly looking for ways to replace it. 

One of the prospective replacements is Iron Beam. That system will use lasers - if it ever materializes, that is. Iron Dome makes sense for a tiny country like Israel. It has been reportedly sold to a few foreign customers. But so far, it hasn't been delivered, let alone deployed. It will take years to build even a single Iron Dome. Moreover, it's unclear where else it could be handy. Some suggest Ukraine. Indeed, the Ukrainians asked for Iron Dome at some point. But it would have been entirely useless. Maybe Israel doesn't want anyone to know that. 

The system's expensiveness has been criticized at home. Some argue that simpler systems would be more efficient. In tests, Iron Dome has proved ineffective against short distance saturation strikes. It's basically an ultra-expensive safety umbrella built for a specific place. Israel responds to every rocket barrage with an airstrike the next day. But the Russians have surface-to-air missiles. The Ukrainian Air Force is also a lot less advanced than the Israeli one. So even if Ukraine had an Iron Dome, it could only protect a mid-size town for about three hours. Ukraine's defense minister Oleksii Reznikov said so himself. After visiting Israel in 2022, Reznikov said: 

"Iron Dome was built against slow, low-altitude, low-impact missiles that were basically made in garages. It does not protect against cruise and ballistic missiles." 

It can be said that Iron Dome is an impressive air defense system that has protected Israel from rocket attacks for over a decade. Its tracking capability and intercepting rates are unmatched, but its limitations are clear. It's prohibitively expensive, and its usefulness is limited to protecting against rockets and mortar shells. Israel is constantly looking for ways to replace it, but for now, Iron Dome remains a crucial component of the country's defense system.