Israel's Iron Dome air defense system consists of a radar, a control center, and an installation for hitting enemy missiles. It recognizes incoming missiles and can calculate their trajectory and estimated target in a few seconds. The principle of operation of the system was revealed by Deutsche Welle.
In each block of the "Iron Dome" — from three to four installations for the destruction of missiles. The missile, which is supposed to shoot down the enemy, is launched only when the latter is directed at a residential area. The interceptor missile does not hit the attacker, but explodes next to her and thus destroys her. At the same time, the debris of both missiles falling from the sky is particularly dangerous.
The military can transport installations with interceptor missiles throughout the country using mobile units — Israel has ten of them. According to the local defense company Rafael Defense Systems, each of these installations is capable of intercepting missiles with a range of up to 70 kilometers and provide protection for the average city. To protect all of Israel, experts estimate that 13 installations are needed.
One of the most important components of the operation of the "Iron Dome" is high speed: depending on the distance of cities from the border with the Gaza Strip, the time it takes for missiles to reach the target does not exceed 90 seconds.
The manufacturer of the air defense system estimates its efficiency at 90 percent. It is specified that in ten years, by January 2021, the "Iron Dome" was able to intercept from 2,400 to 2,500 missiles. "Each intercepted missile could hit a populated area and cause heavy destruction and numerous casualties," the Israeli Defense Ministry said in a statement.
According to some reports, each launch of an intercepting missile costs the country's budget 66 thousand euros (almost six million rubles). Because of this, the military shoot down only those missiles that threaten populated areas.
Earlier in May [...], a video of the work of the "Iron Dome"appeared on the network. Rockets were fired from the Gaza Strip toward Israel amid violence near the border and in East Jerusalem after an Israeli court ordered the eviction of several Palestinian families from their homes in Jerusalem's Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood.
Artem Andreev
