One of Israel’s largest defense firms, RAFAEL Defense Systems, delivered the first of two Iron Dome air defense missile system batteries to the U.S. Army, according to armyrecognition.com.
On Monday, Israel Missile Defense Organization in the Directorate of Defense R&D (DDR&D) at Israel’s Ministry of Defense, delivered the first of two Iron Dome batteries to the U.S. Army.
A symbolic event was held at RAFAEL’s Iron Dome production line.
“These batteries will be employed in the defense of US troops against a variety of ballistic and aerial threats,” the company said on Twitter.
Rafael EVP & Head of Air and Missile Defense Division, Pini Yungman: “The Iron Dome system which will serve the U.S. military is tailored according to U.S. requirements. This being said, its performance capabilities, as seen in Israel, will remain the same. We began the project with a series of tests and demonstrations in the ‘White Sands’ testing field in the US. To date, we have conducted three demonstrations and intercepted targets chosen by the U.S. Army for the Iron Dome system.”
In August 2019, the United States & Israel signed an agreement for the procurement of two Iron Dome Defense System batteries (IDDS-A). The first battery was delivered in record time & the second battery will be delivered in the near future within the framework of the agreement.
Iron Dome is a mobile all-weather air defense system developed by Rafael Advanced Defense Systems and Israel Aerospace Industries. Rafael’s website said their air defense systems is the world’s most deployed missile defense system, with more than 2,000 interceptions and a success rate greater than 90%.
The system can protect deployed and maneuvering forces, as well as the Forward Operating Base (FOB) and urban areas, against a wide range of indirect and aerial threats.