Israeli-made Iron Dome air defense system could be operated by U.S. Army in the near future 1510125

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Defense News - United States
 
 
Monday, October 15, 2012, 02:23 PM
 
Israeli-made Iron Dome air defense system could be operated by U.S. Army in the near future.
United States congressmen are attempting to initiate a measure that could lead to the shared production of the Iron Dome system’s Tamir missiles in the US, both to assist Israel and to have the system operated by the US to protect US forces around the world. (Source IsraelDefense)
     
United States congressmen are attempting to initiate a measure that could lead to the shared production of the Iron Dome system’s Tamir missiles in the US, both to assist Israel and to have the system operated by the US to protect US forces around the world.
Iron Dome was declared operational and initially deployed on 27 March 2011 by the IDF (Israel Defense Forces) near Beersheba. On 7 April 2011, the system successfully intercepted a Grad rocket launched from Gaza for the first time.
     

Washington was very impressed from the capabilities of the new system, which achieved and interception rate of more than 80% during the initial round of combat. US legislators are interested in having some of the missiles be produced in the US, with US funding.

A similar matter was done with the Arrow system, with some of the Arrow-2 missiles being produced by Boeing in the US, and more than half of the new Arrow-3 missiles were produced in the US.

The US production of Tamir missiles will reduce the pressure surrounding the Israeli defense budget, and it seems that it will also advance the possibility that the Pentagon will approve the acquisition of the Iron Dome system by the Army or the US Marines.

US sources have said in recent months that the Iron Dome system is ideal for defending US forces deployed in various places around the world.

The Iron Dome is an effective and innovative mobile defense solution for countering short range rockets and 155 mm artillery shell threats with ranges of up to 70 km in all weather conditions, including low clouds, rain, dust storms or fog.

The system uses a unique interceptor with a special warhead that detonates any target in the air within seconds. The Iron Dome is a cost effective system that can handle multiple threats simultaneously and efficiently.