Israel’s air defence against Iran explained

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When Iran launched a five-hour barrage of more than 300 drones and missiles toward Israel, the country’s vaunted air defence systems and a network of U.S.-led allies staved off the unprecedented air attack. The sophisticated, multilayered defences were developed with billions in U.S. funding, and since Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack, the Biden administration has proposed billions more in military funding for Israel.

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“We intercepted. We thwarted. Together we will win,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu posted on X following the attack.

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Here’s what to know about Israel’s air defence system.

Iron Dome

One of the centrepieces of Israeli air defence is the Iron Dome, developed by the Israeli firm Rafael Advanced Defense Systems and Israel Aerospace Industries. First put into service in 2011, it is designed to stop short-range rockets and artillery like those frequently fired from Gaza by Hamas and Islamic Jihad.

Relying on a system of radar and analysis, the Iron Dome determines whether an incoming rocket is a threat and fires an interceptor only if there’s a danger to a populated area or important infrastructure. Israeli officials and defence companies have said that the Iron Dome has a success rate of more than 90%, though some defence analysts question those numbers.

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David’s Sling

David’s Sling, the middle layer of Israel’s air defence network, is designed to intercept ballistic and cruise missiles as well as medium- to long-range rockets. It has been operational since 2017.

Developed by Rafael Advanced Defense Systems and Raytheon, a major U.S. defence contractor, David’s Sling is designed to counter rockets and missiles fired at a range of 25 to 186 miles.

Arrow

The Arrow 2 and 3 systems are designed to intercept missiles flying outside Earth’s atmosphere and form the top level of Israel’s air defence network.

Completed in 2017, the Arrow 3 was first tested in combat last year, intercepting a missile fired by the Iranian-supported Houthis in Yemen toward the Israeli city of Eilat. Jointly funded and developed with the United States, it does not use explosives like the Arrow 2, instead relying solely on the damage that is caused by the interception itself.

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Partners

As attacks were launched from Iran, Iraq, Syria and Yemen, a U.S.-led coalition including Britain and France provided crucial support.

Among the U.S. forces that participated were the 494th Fighter Squadron, headquartered in Britain, and the 335th Fighter Squadron of Seymour Johnson Air Force Base in North Carolina. The two squadrons flew F-15E Strike Eagles and took down about 70 attack drones headed toward Israel, The Washington Post reported.

The USS Carney and USS Arleigh Burke, destroyers stationed in the eastern Mediterranean Sea, shot down between four and six ballistic missiles while U.S. troops manning the Patriot missile defence system in Irbil, Iraq, took down a missile that had violated Iraqi airspace on its vector to Israel, according to a senior military official speaking to reporters on the condition of anonymity under ground rules set by the White House.

British Royal Air Force planes shot down “a number of Iranian attack drones,” Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said.

Jordan, which has criticized Israel’s war in Gaza, shot down munitions that were in its airspace to prevent them “from endangering the safety of our citizens and residential and populated areas,” its government said.

— Dan Lamothe, Alex Horton, Adam Taylor and Brittany Shammas contributed to this report.

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