Iron dome explained
Tel Aviv to get missile interceptor system: army
The Israeli military will on Monday
deploy a battery of rocket interceptors from its "Iron
Dome" system in the Tel
Aviv region, a military spokesman said on Sunday.
"Iron Dome is being incorporated into the heart of
the Israeli military. As part of this process, the
system is deployed in different sites and will be in
the Gush Dan region (of Tel Aviv) in the coming days,"
he said in a statement that clarified the deployment
would begin on Monday.
This deployment "is part of the annual training
plan for this system", he added.
The decision to site an Iron Dome battery at
Tel Aviv comes amid heightened regional tensions
and speculation about a possible Israeli attack
targeting Iran's controversial nuclear programme.
Israel has denied that a decision has been
taken to launch a pre-emptive strike on Iranian
nuclear facilities.
The first battery of the unique
multi-million-dollar Iron Dome system was
deployed last March 27 outside the southern
desert city of Beersheva, after it was hit by
Grad rockets fired by Palestinian militants in
the Gaza
Strip.
On April 4, the system was also deployed
around the southern port city of Ashkelon.
The first of its kind in the world and
still at the experimental stage, it is not
yet able to provide complete protection,
but it has successfully brought down
several rockets fired from Gaza.
Designed to intercept rockets and
artillery shells fired from a range of
between four and 70 kilometres (three
and 45 miles), Iron Dome is part of an
ambitious multi-layered defence
programme to protect Israeli towns and
cities.
Two other systems make up the
programme -- the Arrow long-range
ballistic missile defence system and
the so-called David's Sling, or Magic
Wand, system, intended to counter
medium-range missiles.