How does the Iron Dome work? Israel’s multi-layered air defence missile protection system explained

Israel has withstood a barrage of ballistic missiles fired from Iran in the latest phase of the conflict in the Middle East thanks, in large part, if not completely, to its famed Iron Dome defence system.

Explosions could be heard across Israel on Tuesday, local time, as Iran launched its retaliatory strike for Israel’s campaign against its Hezbollah allies in Lebanon.

The Iron Dome has protected Israel from multiple bombardments and thousands of rockets since it began operating in 2011 — development started in 2007, a year after the Lebanon War ended and Hamas took control of Gaza, with the help of US funding and defence intelligence.

Its success rate is greater than 90 per cent, according to Israeli defence firm Rafael Advanced Defence Systems, which helped design the Dome, and has been credited with saving countless civilian lives.

What is the Iron Dome and how does it work?

The Iron Dome is a multi-tiered missile defence system designed to protect against short-range rockets (at a distance of up to 70km).

Each Dome battery — a truck-towed mobile unit placed strategically around the country — uses radar technology to detect rockets and track their trajectory to estimate where they will land.

Military personnel analyse the path of an incoming rocket and decide whether to launch a counter missile to intercept it. If it is projected to land harmlessly, in an unpopulated area or the sea, it will not be intercepted.

If they do pose a threat to civilians or infrastructure, counter-missiles are then fired at or near the incoming projectile to neutralise it.

Each missile fired costs about $US50,000, Dr Yehoshua Kalisky, a senior researcher at the Institute for National Security Studies in Tel Aviv told Reuters. Because of the numerous low-level threats it neutralises, it is much cheaper than other systems.

The Dome, known as Kippat Barzel in Hebrew, reacts within seconds and is manned 24 hours a day. A naval version was deployed in 2017 to protect ships and other Israeli assets.

The system is the envy of militaries around the world. Rafael supplied at least two Iron Dome batteries to the US in 2020, and Ukraine has made a similar request amid Russia’s incursions.

For all the protection it provides civilians — in any weather conditions, day and night — the Dome has a saturation point when it would become overwhelmed by attack; however, that specific point is unknown.

A previous Iranian attack on April 13 this year saw 170 drones, 120 ballistic missiles and 30 cruise missiles launched at Israel. The IDF said the Iron Dome intercepted 99 per cent of those projectiles.

As such, the Iron Dome is just one part of several systems in Israel’s Missile Defence Organisation which includes medium to long-range missile defences, including: David’s Sling, the Arrow-2 and Arrow-3 systems and the Patriot systems.

What is David’s Sling?

David’s Sling provides protection from medium-range missiles launched from 100km to 200km away — such as air strikes from Lebanon’s Hezbollah militia to the north.

It was developed and manufactured jointly by the state-owned Rafael Advanced Defence Systems and the US’ Raytheon Co.

David’s Sling can also intercept aircraft, drones and cruise missiles.

What is Arrow-2 and Arrow-3?

The outer layers of IMDO are the Arrow systems, designed to intercept ballistic missiles — like those fired from Iran on Tuesday — fired from thousands of kilometres away.

The Arrow-2 is optimised for destroying missiles in the atmosphere, while the Arrow-3 can hit them while they are coasting in space.

Both systems are designed to minimise the chance that warheads or payloads from the intercepted projectiles cause harm on the ground.

It was developed by the US and operates outside the atmosphere and used to intercept long-range missiles launched by Iran-allied Houthi militants in Yemen.

What is the Patriot system?

The oldest of the IMDO, Patriot is used to shoot down aircraft, including drones.

Patriot was used in the First Gulf War in 1991 to intercept Scud missiles fired by Iraq’s leader at the time, Saddam Hussein.

Israel has also reportedly been developing a new system called the Iron Beam. That system is expected to be able to intercept incoming threats with laser technology, which is said to be much cheaper to operate than existing systems. But it is not operational yet.