US Army takes delivery of its first Iron Dome system

The US Army has received its first Iron Dome battery from the Israel MoD, manufacturer Rafael Advanced Defense Systems announced on 30 September.

The army revealed in February 2019 that it was buying a pair of Iron Dome Systems. A formal procurement agreement between the Israeli and the US government followed in August that year.

Delivery of the second battery will follow ‘in the near future within the framework of the agreement’, Rafael noted.

Both batteries will be used to defend US troops against rockets, mortars and other ballistic and aerial threats.

Pini Yungman, Rafael executive vice-president and head of the company’s Air and Missile Defense Division, noted: ‘The Iron Dome system which will serve the US military is tailored according to U.S. requirements. This being said, its performance capabilities, as seen in Israel, will remain the same.’

He added: ‘We began the project with a series of tests and demonstrations in the White Sands testing field in the US. To date, we have conducted three demonstrations and intercepted targets chosen by the US Army for the Iron Dome system.’

In addition to components made by production prime contractor Rafael, Iron Dome includes the Elta ELM-2084 multi-mission radar, plus a battle management/C2 system from mPrest.

The handover of the first Iron Dome system for the US Army comes amid closer defence industrial co-operation between Rafael and Raytheon, a long-time partner on Iron Dome. On 3 August the two companies agreed to establish a JV to produce the system in the US.

The Raytheon Rafael Area Protection Systems JV expects to select a site by the end of this year.

Having visited the US in late September, Israeli Minister of Defense Benny Gantz said topics of discussion with DoD and military officials included ‘procurement and information sharing in the field of technology’.

Shephard Defence Insight forecasts procurement of three more Iron Dome systems by the end of this decade.

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