Iron Dome Missile Defense System
There was another sharp deterioration in relations between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas, which turned into an unprecedented rocket-artillery duel, in which thousands of unguided missiles launched from the Gaza Strip are opposed by the Israeli Iron Dome missile defense system.
It is worth paying tribute to the Hamas militants, who managed to create an impressive supply of rockets this time, with which they literally shower nearby areas of Israel. Made by semi-artisanal methods, they are distant "descendants" of Soviet and Chinese unguided multiple launch rocket systems of the Cold War era with a caliber from 107 to 122 mm, weighing 4.5 kg and equipped with a high-explosive warhead. Taking into account the experience of previous conflicts, the militants dispersed launchers throughout the Gaza Strip, and placed stocks of rockets in numerous caches. It is not necessary to speak about their high accuracy, but with the massive simultaneous use of dozens and even hundreds of shells, some of them reach the enemy's territory and cause damage to it. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF), countered the attacks of Hamas missile defense system "Iron Dome", developed by Israeli specialists with financial assistance from the United States. The first Iron Dome battery was deployed 10 years ago. Currently, the grouping consists of 10 batteries.
Iron Dome Missile Defense System
The system has a high efficiency – 85-90%, that is, out of 10 launched Palestinian missiles, 9 are guaranteed to be destroyed. The battery consists of an ELM 2084 radar, a control system and three to four PU with 20 Tamir anti-aircraft missiles. Each battery covers an area of 150 sq. km. When a missile salvo is detected, the Iron Dome takes the targets for escort. It can track up to 1,100 targets at a time. At the same time, the complex calculates the points of destruction and measures them with the location of nearby civilian and military targets. The management system defines more important and less important goals. However, this time the "Iron Dome" was not ready for such a massive attack, when the account of the launched missiles is already in the thousands. And in these conditions, the efficiency of 85%-90 % was no longer enough. For example, when launching 2,000 missiles, of which 500 pose a real threat, even with such high efficiency, up to 75 shells can break through.
