Tuesday, November 20, 2012

The "almost perfect" Iron Dome system

"Authorities this week disclosed that an Iron Dome malfunction probably contributed to a rocket strike on an apartment complex in the town of Kiryat Malachi. Three people, including a pregnant woman, died in the attack, the most significant Israeli casualties of the violence.
Israeli press reports indicate that the Iron Dome installation in Kiryat Malachi suffered a communications problem. There have also been reports of shrapnel damage on the ground from the remains of Israeli interceptor missiles.
U.S. taxpayers have paid much of the reported $500-million price tag — to date — of Iron Dome, which Israel began developing five years ago. The U.S. ambassador here, Dan Shapiro, appeared with the Israeli defense minister in the ceremony installing the latest battery.
U.S. funding is also expected to underwrite Israeli's next-generation antimissile shield, known as David's Sling, aimed at longer-range missiles, fired from as far away as Iran. Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, the Israeli firm that developed Iron Dome, is also working on David's Sling, along with Raytheon, the U.S. defense giant. Rafael would like to market Iron Dome globally."