Israel's Iron Dome defence comes under pressure

Israel’s famed Iron Dome anti-missile system intended to protect the country from short-range rocket attacks was overwhelmed and outwitted by new tactics deployed by the Hamas militant group in Gaza. Hamas had learned lessons from numerous rocket attacks against Israel in the past when the Iron Dome system effectively destroyed nearly every missile fired from Gaza. This time, Hamas had two tactics: to shower targets in Israeli with thousands of rockets all at once and to back up the strikes with mortar attacks and explosive-laden drones. Iron Dome couldn’t cope with so many missiles at the same time, reportedly up to 5,000, and the system wasn’t designed to be as effective against mortar rockets and low-flying drones. Multiple mortars and drones were launched in the attacks and they were more challenging for the Iron Dome system to locate and target. Iron Dome has been upgraded and remains one of the world’s most successful defences against short-range rockets but like all attempts to design the perfect shield against enemy attacks, the system is not infallible. Developed by Rafael Advanced Defence Systems and Israel Aerospace Industries in partnership with the US, Iron Dome became operational in 2011 and since then has intercepted and destroyed thousands of rockets fired by Hamas in Gaza and by Hezbollah in southern Lebanon. The system’s radar and command and control centre can detect the route, trajectory and potential target of an incoming rocket. It was designed to shoot down rockets with a range of more than 40 miles. If the target of individual rockets is judged by artificial intelligence equipment to pose no threat to urban areas, they can be left to land harmlessly in a field. However, each truck-towed Iron Dome system has to be reloaded to ensure a continuous intercept capability. The reloading proved to be a weakness when Israel was confronted with the onslaught of 5,000 missiles. A significant proportion of the rockets was destroyed in mid-air but with so many launched at once from multiple directions, Iron Dome struggled to ensure the claimed 90 per cent hit rate achieved in past strikes. Iron Dome was designed specifically for the short-range rocket threat posed by Hamas and Hezbollah. In one incident in 2019, for example, almost 120 rockets were fired from Gaza in a single hour on the city of Ashdod but only one got past Iron Dome interceptors. For longer range rockets, of the sort stocked by Hezbollah, Israel has to rely on other systems: David’s Sling and Arrow-2 interceptors can target medium-to-long-range missiles, and Arrow-3 can intercept ballistic missiles fired from a distance of up to 1,500 miles. The biggest concern for Israel and its integrated anti-missile system will be if Hezbollah joins Hamas in full-scale attacks. Hezbollah has a massive arsenal of long-range rockets, kamikaze drones, cruise missiles and artillery rockets. Even the most advanced integrated anti-missile system of the sort operated by Israel would face an unprecedented challenge if both designated terrorist organisations, each backed by Iran, joined forces.