15 Things You Don’t Know About Israel’s Air Defense Systems
Israel’s Defense Ministry signed a deal last November to sell David’s Sling to Finland for $344 million though it has so far declined requests so supply the system to Ukraine.
5. Houthi missile was Arrow-2’s first
Arrow-2 was used to down a ballistic missile for the first time in the weeks following the October 7 attack. The missile was fired at the Red Sea by the Houthis in Yemen.
6. Interceptions out of Earth’s atmosphere
Israel built on the success of Arrow-2 by developing Arrow-3, designed to intercept so-called “exo-atmospheric threats” — ballistic missiles that fly 1,200km (750 miles) above the Earth’s atmosphere in suborbital space.
Israel is one of just five countries capable of intercepting such missiles. Arrow-3 uses hit-to-kill technology to knock out the missiles before they re-enter the earth’s atmosphere.
Israel has finalized an agreement to sell the Arrow-3 air defense system to Germany in a deal valued at $3.6 billion. It is now working on Arrow-4, which will have enhanced capabilities.
7. And now Iron Beam
Israel is also developing Iron Beam, a game-changing new system to intercept incoming threats using high-powered lasers instead of missiles. The only operating costs are the electricity it uses.
Although it’s still being developed, Iron Beam has been used in trials on the Gaza front in recent months.
8. F35 stealth jets
Iran’s attack, in response to the killing of Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps commander Mohammad Reza Zahedi and his deputy Mohammad Hadi Hajriahimi in Damascus two weeks earlier, was coordinated so that drones and missiles with different flying times would all strike together at 2am on April 14.
Iran launched 170 UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles or drones), which take seven hours to reach Israel, 120 cruise missiles (flying time two to three hours) and 100 long-range ballistic missiles, which take just 12 minutes, flying above the Earth’s atmosphere at a speed of around 7,500kmh (4,660 mph).
9. Hugely expensive, but worth the cost
Israel’s air defense system is extremely expensive, but the alternative – not having one – would be even more costly.
“Establishing such a defense system, its development and production cost money,” said Moshe Patel, director of the Israel Missile Defense Organization (IMDO).
“However, we are in war, and in war first and foremost we save people, protect strategic installations and prevent the economy from coming to a stop, the declines in the stock market and the enormous damage to property.”
10. Iran’s coordinated strike
Iran’s attack, in response to the killing of Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps commander Mohammad Reza Zahedi and his deputy Mohammad Hadi Hajriahimi in Damascus two weeks earlier, was coordinated so that drones and missiles with different flying times would all strike together at 2am on April 14.
Iran launched 170 UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles or drones), which take seven hours to reach Israel, 120 cruise missiles (flying time two to three hours) and 100 long-range ballistic missiles, which take just 12 minutes, flying above the Earth’s atmosphere at a speed of around 7,500kmh (4,660 mph).
11. Coordinated, but 99% don’t make it
Around 99 percent of all Iran’s missiles and drones were downed before they entered Israeli airspace in an operation codenamed Iron Shield.
The Nevatim air base, home to Israel’s elite F-35 fighter jets and believed to be a primary target, suffered slight damage. There were no fatalities, although a seven-year-old Israeli Bedouin girl was seriously injured. Reports suggest at least a quarter, and as many as a half of Iran’s missiles failed.
12. 60 tons of TNT
Israel shot down missiles and drones with a combined payload of 60 tons of TNT explosives in an operation that cost an estimated 4 billion to 5 billion shekels ($1 billion to $1.3 billion). Each Iron Dome missile costs approximately $50,000; David’s Sling costs $1 million; and each Arrow-2 or Arrow-3 missile is reckoned to cost up to $2.5 million.
13. Top Gun meets Star Wars
An Israel Air Force reserve pilot said downing Iran’s drones and missiles on April 14 was like “Top Gun meets Star Wars.”
The unnamed officer said it was the most complex mission he’d flown in 20 years of service.
“It really was a different thing with hundreds of those UAVs and missiles in the air getting intercepted around you, endless explosions and interceptions going on around you,” he said. “It was a very aggressive attack coordinated by Iran, one which maybe we haven’t seen in modern warfare, but you’re seeing absolute defense in action.”
14. First nation state attack since 1991
Iran’s attack, called Operation True Promise, was the first on Israel by a nation state since January 1991, when Iraq fired some 40 Scud missiles, mostly at Tel Aviv and Haifa. Iraq, Syria and Yemen, where Tehran has allied militias, also took part in the attack.
15. Iran a missile superpower, but that’s about it
Iran is widely regarded as a superpower in tactical ballistic missiles and UAVs, but its air force is weak and poorly maintained, and its air defenses consist of largely outdated systems from Russia.
John Jeffay is a journalist at Israel21.c. This article is published courtesy of Israel21c.
