Iron Dome: The Game-Changer

ByAir Marshal Anil Chopra

19 Feb , 2015

The Iron Dome Concept

The name ‘Iron Dome’ evokes an image of a protective bubble. The Iron Dome is an Israeli ground based, truck towable, short-range, ground-to-air air defence system in operation since 2011. Currently operated only by Israel and Singapore, it has been operationally tested in Operation Pillar of Strength in November 2012 and Operation Protective Edge, the two conflicts against Hamas in Gaza. It is designed and manufactured jointly by Rafael Advanced Defense Systems (Rafael) and Israel Aerospace Industries Ltd (IAI), in close coordination with Israeli Defence Forces (IDF). At a unit cost of $50 million per battery, every missile launch costs approximately $50,000. With a weight of 90 kg, the missile is three metres long and is carried in groups of 20 in each launcher. The warhead is believed to carry 11 kilograms or 24 pounds of high explosives. It is designed to destroy short range rockets and up to 155 mm artillery shells during day or night, at distances between four to 70 km. It can be operated in all weather conditions including in fog, dust storm, low clouds and rain. The lethal range may one day be increased to 250 km.

The Iron Dome has changed the face of the battle and released the military to other operational tasks…

The infamous Scud B Iraqi ballistic missile attacks on Israel and Saudi Arabia by Saddam Hussein during the Persian Gulf War in the year 1991 had brought into focus the threat to ordinary people living peacefully in towns. The American Raytheon Patriot missile system was used extensively in defence. A total of 40 incoming Scuds were engaged. The success rate was difficult to evaluate but the televised war made Patriot Advanced Capability (PAC-1) air defence system a household name. The Patriot used advanced aerial interceptor missile and high-performance radar. The newer, more accurate variants are today deployed all across the nations of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) and also procured by Taiwan, Egypt, Germany, Greece, Israel, Japan, Kuwait, Netherlands, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Jordan and Spain. To take on a fast moving unpredictable incoming artillery rocket or a cruise missile is a difficult task. The system had its limitations. Technology has been evolving over the years to improve hit rates of close-in Air Defence Systems. To counter the rocket threats, the Israeli Defence Ministry decided in February 2007 to develop a mobile air defence system.

During the Palestinian-Israeli war of 2014, ‘Operation Protective Edge’ in the Gaza Strip, Hamas rained hundreds of rockets/missiles on the populated areas of Israel, some as far as 100 km deep. Israel’s “Iron Dome” air-defence system emerged as a game changer, shooting down more than 80 per cent of the incoming rockets and being credited with preventing numerous Israeli civilian casualties. It also reinforced Israel’s decisive technological edge that allowed it unhindered operations against Gaza and assured security to its own population. The war showcased a very modern system to the world.

The System

The name ‘Iron Dome’ evokes an image of a protective bubble. The Iron Dome is an Israeli ground based, truck towable, short-range, ground-to-air air defence system in operation since 2011. Currently operated only by Israel and Singapore, it has been operationally tested in Operation Pillar of Strength in November 2012 and Operation Protective Edge, the two conflicts against Hamas in Gaza. It is designed and manufactured jointly by Rafael Advanced Defense Systems (Rafael) and Israel Aerospace Industries Ltd (IAI), in close coordination with Israeli Defence Forces (IDF).

An Iron Dome launcher fires an interceptor rocket near the southern city of Ashdod

At a unit cost of $50 million per battery, every missile launch costs approximately $50,000. With a weight of 90 kg, the missile is three metres long and is carried in groups of 20 in each launcher. The warhead is believed to carry 11 kilograms or 24 pounds of high explosives. It is designed to destroy short range rockets and up to 155 mm artillery shells during day or night, at distances between four to 70 km. It can be operated in all weather conditions including in fog, dust storm, low clouds and rain. The lethal range may one day be increased to 250 km.

First employed in March 2011, the Iron Dome achieved the first intercept of a Gaza launched Grad rocket in April 2011. By November 2012, it had reportedly intercepted over 400 rockets. Israel is simultaneously working on a multi-tiered system that will have Arrow 2 & 3, Iron Beam and David’s Sling missiles from 2018 onwards. With the civilian population of Israeli having been under rocket threat from its neighbours for decades, the project was first conceived in 2005 and the system was designed to handle threats emanating from multiple directions simultaneously.

The system has inbuilt intelligence so as not to intercept rockets that are unlikely to hit populated areas…

The system has three major components. The Detection and Tracking Radar is from ‘Elta’, a subsidiary of IAI. The ‘Battle Management and Weapon Control’ system is by ‘mPrest Systems’, a software company in Israel. The interceptor missile ‘Tamir’ and its electro-optic sensors along with Missile firing unit are by Rafael. The EL/M-2084 Active Electronically Scanned Array Radar (AESA) is integrated with the firing unit through the Battle Management System. It detects rockets and predicts the intercept point.

Other features of the Iron Dome include a vertical launch interceptor, warhead with proximity fuse and mobile launcher compatible with various radar and detection systems. The detection and tracking radar scans a defined sector in the sky for incoming short-to-medium-range rockets, coming from up to about 60 km away. The system’s special warhead allows it to detonate in the vicinity of the target in the air. The radar supports many launchers through a very secure wireless connection. A typical battery with three launchers (20 missiles) defends an area of 150 square kilometres. Two interceptor missiles are normally fired at each incoming projectile to increase hit probability. Actually achieved success rate is reported to be over 80 per cent. It can simultaneously process and intercept a barrage of multiple rockets.

The system has inbuilt intelligence so as not to intercept rockets that are unlikely to hit populated areas. It also has advanced safety features to prevent inadvertent explosion or firing. The system can also calculate the location of the launch site thus allowing it to be targeted.

The Iron Dome is the only dual-mission Counter Rocket, Artillery and Mortar (C-RAM) and Very Short Range Air Defence (VSHORAD) system currently operational. The Iron Dome covered the distance from the drawing board to operational deployment in just four years. They are assigned and employed as part of the Israel Air Force’s Air Defence Division. The system can be connected to the high echelon Air Situation Picture which enables classification of target threat families.

India proposes to field the BMD systems around New Delhi and the financial capital Mumbai…

A series of tests were carried out to design and broaden the activities of the Iron Dome system and to improve its capabilities against a variety of threats. The system was upgraded to enable it to handle the threats posed by the Iranian Fajr and Zelzal rockets. Interceptors are maintenance free with a life cycle of 15 years. It is estimated that the intensely threatened area of the size of Israel will require around 15 batteries. The system is ideally suited to defend major cities and industrial complexes.

Of the approximately 1000 missiles/rockets fired into Israel by Hamas from early 2012 till mid-2014, two-thirds were assessed as no-threat by the system and ignored. The remaining 300 were engaged and 90 percent of them intercepted. System effectiveness was best tested in the recent conflict in August 2014 wherein they achieved 735 successful intercepts at 87 to 90 per cent success rate. There have been only two reported occasions of failure of the system. American historian and defence consultant Steven Zaloga states that the success rate of the Iron Dome system is unprecedented even when compared to systems such as American Patriot. Defence reporter Mark Thompson says that the Iron Dome is the most effective tested missile shield in the world.

Operational Impact

The Iron Dome needs to be coupled with an early warning system, especially for countries with little depth like Israel. Lt. Col. Levi Itach, head of the military’s early warning branch, said that several high-tech measures along with a disciplined public that has vigilantly followed instructions, have allowed Israel to keep its casualties from rockets to a minimum. “The target is to lower the ratio to one death for every 10,000 rockets fired”, he said. It can be most frustrating for an enemy who has launched hundreds of rockets but is unable to inflict any casualty.

Elta ELM-2084 radar used by the Iron Dome

The Iron Dome has changed the face of the battle and released the military to other operational tasks. “The Iron Dome system and its impressive success thus far have had a strategic impact on managing the campaign. It gives us wide options, but yet we can’t afford to be complacent”, said Defence Minister Moshe Yaalon. The Iron Dome was selected by the Israeli Defence Ministry to provide the lowest layer of Israel Multi-Layered Air & Missiles Defence umbrella. The system was chosen because it offered the most comprehensive defence solution for a range of threats, had a relatively short development cycle and a low cost-per-kill. The system is now battle tested.

In the Indo-Pak context, India needs to defend border towns and upfront military formations from artillery attack…

Possible Buyers

NATO and a number of European countries have shown interest in the system which would be very useful to South Korea in view of constant artillery and missile threat from North Korea. US aerospace major and developer of Patriot system, Raytheon had teamed with Rafael in 2011 to market the system in the US and to complement its own intercept weapon system. It can integrate seamlessly with Raytheon C-RAM systems for layered defence. The US Army also needs the system for its Middle East deployments.

Some have questioned the cost vis-a-vis benefit ratio. A Tamir interceptor missile costs up to $50,000 and is fired against an $800-Palestinian Qassam rocket. With a range of 122 mm, the Qassam is able to cover significant parts of Southern Israel and threatens nearly one million inhabitants. Such an analysis is unreasonable and incorrect considering that the system selectively intercepts only those rockets constituting a threat. Also the costs of own lives saved have to be factored in.

The biggest plus for the system is the impact on national morale and self-confidence. Proponents of Laser and Directed Energy Weapons feel that those are cheaper solutions. However, systems currently under development such as ‘Nautilus Laser’ and ‘Skyguard’ are still to be operational. There are others who feel that heightened sense of security has made successive Israeli governments more ‘Trigger–happy’ and has reduced chances of rapprochement. Increase in intercept range of the Iron Dome is bound to reduce the number of batteries required to defend a given area.

The US government had supported the initial funding of a few systems. Having already invested $900 million by 2011, in May 2012, the US approved $680 million for technology sharing and co-production of the Iron Dome. The US has complete rights to the technology and Raytheon would soon join for co-production with other US firms supplying components.

The combined effect of the Iron Dome and India’s BMD should reduce the threat from Pakistani missiles…

Options for India

India has been working with Israel for many years for support for indigenous air defence systems. Rafael’s missiles include the Python and Derby air-to-air missiles, surface to air systems including the Spyder and the Barak anti-missile naval air defence system developed jointly by India with IAI. Under an agreement entered into in the year 2008, Rafael was awarded a contract to supply the Indian Air Force with the Spyder Low-Level Quick Reaction Missile systems (LLQRM) armed with Python and Derby missiles.

In August 2009, India signed a $2.5 billion deal with IAI and Rafael for the joint development of a new, advanced version of the Spyder surface-to-air missile. In March 2010, the two countries signed a $1.4 billion contract for the development and procurement of Barak 8 medium-range surface-to-air missiles. Over $10 billion worth of Israeli weapon systems have been procured by India in the first decade of this century. It has been a mutually beneficial arrangement with Israel getting a badly needed market and India, the modern weapon systems and transfer of technology.

Scientists in India’s Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) had suggested that India look at a joint development programme with Israeli firms to develop an Indian version of the Iron Dome. Indian military establishment’s temptation for acquiring the system is based on hostile neighbours. Pakistani terror groups like Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) could well acquire artillery guns that could threaten large groups of Indian population. Unlike ballistic missiles, against which DRDO claims to have a fairly good anti-ballistic missile shield, there is almost no protection against short-range rockets or artillery fire. The DRDO is currently collaborating with Israeli firms to develop medium and long range surface-to-air missiles MRSAMs and LRSAMs. However, the Iron Dome is in a different class all together.

In the Indo-Pak context, India needs to defend border towns and upfront military formations from artillery attack. The Iron Dome could also be a good defence against ‘Nasr’, the Pakistani tactical nuclear weapon system reportedly under development. India would prefer joint development and production of the system with technology transfer so that it can complement the Indian Ballistic Missile Defence Programme. Indian critics say that the Iron Dome is essentially a theatre rocket defence system and far from a Ballistic Missile Defence (BMD) system. It might have worked with Hamas’ Qassam, Grad, WS-1E and Fajr-5 rockets but are no match for Pakistan’s larger, farther reaching and more powerful ballistic missiles.

The DRDO is currently collaborating with Israeli firms to develop medium and long range surface-to-air missiles MRSAMs and LRSAMs…

There are three phases during which a long range missile/rocket can be intercepted. The boost phase intercept is when the missile has yet to jettison motors and presents a large target. Interceptor will have to be close to the border. In mid-phase, the missile is at very high altitude. In the terminal phase, it is of small in size and travelling at very high speed and thus difficult to intercept. In the Indo-Pak context, the Iron Dome class of system could best be used against battlefield weapons such as Nasr to defend frontier towns and army formations. The 60-km range Nasr being nuclear capable, its destruction would be crucial. The system could also do well against low-velocity Babur cruise missile.

India proposes to field the BMD systems around New Delhi and the financial capital Mumbai. Its own two-tiered defence system consists of two interceptors, the Prithvi Air Defence (PAD) and the Advanced Air Defence (AAD), whose effectiveness India’s DRDO claims is better than that of the US Patriot Advanced Capability 3 (PAC-3). The combined effect of the Iron Dome and India’s BMD should reduce the threat from Pakistani missiles. India would certainly require a better than 80 per cent kill success rate against nuclear tactical missiles. India’s interest in the Iron Dome has generated both concern and interest among other militaries.

At the recent Singapore Air Show, Rafael unveiled a directed energy weapon called the ‘Iron Beam’.

The Future

At the recent Singapore Air Show, Rafael unveiled a directed energy weapon called the ‘Iron Beam’. Developed jointly with USA, it can destroy rockets, mortars and other threats from the air using a high energy laser beam. David’s Sling, also called the ‘Magic Wand’, is being developed jointly by Rafael and Raytheon to intercept long range rockets and cruise missiles at distances up to 300 km. It is designed to intercept the next generation tactical ballistic missiles such as the Russian road-mobile ‘Iskandar’.

Named after Alexander the Great, the Iskandar has a variety of warheads including cluster munitions, fuel-air-explosive, earth penetrating bunker buster, electro-magnetic pulse anti-radar and can carry nuclear warheads. Magic Wand’s CCD/IIR seeker can distinguish between decoys and actual warhead. It uses Elta multi-mode radar with multi-stage solid-fuel interceptor and advanced steering for super-manoeuvrability during the kill-stage. Originally planned for deployment by 2015, the programme may slip due budgetary constraints. India is reportedly also interested in purchasing the longer-range David’s Sling system. The US and Israel are also developing the Arrow-3 system to intercept missiles at very high altitude, well before they are on the downward path towards the target. To be operational by 2016, the two will complement each other and serve as a multi-layer missile defence.