Iron Dome

Iron Dome (Hebrew: כִּפַּת בַּרְזֶל, kipat barzel) also known as "Iron Cap" is a mobile all-weather air defense system developed by Rafael Advanced Defense Systems. The system is designed to intercept and destroy short-range rockets and artillery shells fired from distances of 4 to 70 kilometers away and whose trajectory would take them to a populated area. Israel hopes to increase the range of Iron Dome's interceptions, from the current maximum of 70 km (45 miles) to 250 km and make it more versatile so that it could intercept rockets coming from two directions simultaneously.

Iron Dome was declared operational and initially deployed on 27 March 2011 near Beersheba. On 7 April 2011, the system successfully intercepted a Grad rocket launched from Gaza for the first time. On 10 March 2012, The Jerusalem Post reported that the system shot down 90% of rockets launched from Gaza that would have landed in populated areas. By November 2012, official statements indicated that it had intercepted 400+ rockets. On 19 November, defense reporter Mark Thompson wrote that while these numbers were impossible to confirm, the "lack of Israeli casualties suggests Iron Dome is the most-effective, most-tested missile shield the world has ever seen."

On 28 September 2011, Flight Global reported that according to a source at Rafael, the Israel Defense Forces learned during its deployment that Iron Dome is also effective against aircraft up to an altitude of 32,800 ft (10,000 m).