Iron Dome (Hebrew: כיפת ברזל) is a mobile air defense system in development by Rafael Advanced Defense Systems designed to intercept short-range rockets and artillery shells. The system was created as a defensive countermeasure to the rocket threat against Israel's civilian population on its northern and southern border, and was declared operational and initially deployed in the first quarter of 2011.[1] It is designed to intercept very short-range threats up to 70 kilometers in all-weather situations.[2]...[Full Article]
Iron Dome Defense Start Working in Southern Israel 27/3/11 P.1 כיפת הברזל בדרום
Iron Dome Defense Start Working in Southern Israel 27/3/11 P.2 כיפת הברזל בדרום
'Iron Dome,' Israel Rocket Defense Shield, Deployed For First Time Against Gaza Rockets
Huffington Post
JERUSALEM — Israel deployed its newly developed "Iron Dome" rocket defense system for the first time Friday to defend its southern communities from attacks by Gaza militants after a bloody week of Palestinian strikes and Israeli reprisals.
There was no rocket fire on Friday when Israeli defense minister Ehud Barak visited soldiers at a military base near the Gaza border and announced the new system was being put into use.
"We won't allow terror to reach our cities. If the shooting continues, we will respond as needed," Barak told reporters. He said he had approved the Iron Dome deployment as "an operational experiment." He said this is the first battery and that it would "take years for Israel to be fully equipped" with a system that would protect the entire area...[Full Article]
PM says Iron Dome won't provide complete protection
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu tried to lower expectations about the Iron Dome system Sunday, telling the cabinet that the system could not protect every house, school and army base in the country.
"Israel has been under the threat of missile attack for 20 years, since the first Gulf War. I don't want to create the illusion that Iron Dome, which we are setting up for the first time today, will prove a full or comprehensive answer," he said.
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Rocket fire increases; IDF may deploy Iron Dome soon
Netanyahu said that the Iron Dome system was still in its experimental stages. The true answer to the missile attacks he said was a combination of deterrence, preventive measures and the resilience of the government and the people...[Full Article]
Israel's southern towns slam State over lack of Gaza rocket defense
Sderot mayor says deployment of first anti-rocket system near city of Be'er Sheva meant to 'shut everyone up'; Mayor of Bedouin city of Rahat bemoans Israel's 'first-class discrimination of its Bedouin citizens.'
Haaretz
The announcement that Israel would deploy its first Iron Dome anti-missile system near the southern city of Be'er Sheva has outraged both Jewish and Bedouin Negev residents on Sunday, who criticized the government over its apparent protection of larger cities, while neglecting smaller communities.
Palestinian militants have fired dozens of rockets at Israel over the last week, prompting Israeli air strikes against targeted areas in the Gaza Strip. The renewed hostilities have fed concerns of another large-scale Israeli military operation.
On Sunday, the IDF said it would deploy the first Iron Dome anti-rocket system in southern Israel for the first time, saying the first to enjoy the system's defense would be Be'er Sheva – the Negev's most populous city...[Full Article]
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Iron Dome - Defense Against Short Range Artillery Rockets
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U.S. Foreign Aid to Israel - Congressional Research Service
U.S. Congress okays aid for Iron Dome
Haaretz
May 23, 2010
The U.S. House of Representatives approved by a large majority Thursday night President Barack Obama's decision to grant Israel $205 million in military aid, for the purpose of procuring more Iron Dome missile defense systems. ..[Full Article]
