The American Wall Street Journal said that Israel It has expanded its air defense systems in preparation for a possible attack on several fronts by Iran And its allies, which may constitute the biggest test yet of a multi-layered air defense system, and it now requires much more than the Iron Dome system that it boasts of.
The newspaper explained – in a report by Anat Peled – that the Iron Dome – developed by the United States and Israel in the past decade – has become the world's leading system for shooting down short-range rockets, reducing the threat posed by weapons launched by Palestinian groups, but Iran's capabilities andHizb allah in Lebanon It poses another issue.
Because Iran has drones and ballistic missiles that the Iron Dome was not designed to stop, and because Hezbollah has an arsenal of tens of thousands of various projectiles, Israel andUnited State In detail, a larger air defense system based on the capabilities of their air forces and others, and on the radar systems of neighboring countries, even Arab countries that were once sworn enemies of Israel.
Worried this time
The researcher at the Institute for National Security Studies said: Tel Aviv “It's a whole synchronized system that works like clockwork,” said Yehoshua Kaliski, adding that he believes Israel is relatively well prepared for a major attack.
The writer pointed out that US Central Command It will coordinate many operations, after Israel was brought into the geographic area of this command in 2021, allowing it greater ability to coordinate with Arab countries with which it does not have international relations.
The newspaper reported that this system was tested in April when Israel, with the help of the United States and…United kingdom AndFrance Other than that, it shot down more than 300 Iranian projectiles with a 99% interception rate, yet Tehran said it was able to destroy key Israeli military targets and was effective in demonstrating its ability to penetrate Israeli defense systems.
This time, US officials are more concerned that the Iranian attack could be accompanied by simultaneous strikes by Hezbollah and Tehran's other allies in the region to overwhelm Israeli defense systems, in response to the assassination. Fouad Shukrone of the senior leaders of Hezbollah, as well as the leader of the Islamic Resistance Movement (agitation) Ismail Haniyeh In Tehran.
One of the expected difficulties in dealing with a large barrage of missiles on several fronts is the need to quickly classify different targets and determine what to shoot down, the newspaper said, noting that Israel's multi-layered air defense system – as analysts say – is designed for such a situation, as it consists of several parts aimed at confronting different types of threats.
It is considered David's slingshot One of the newest of these systems, it covers long- and short-range missiles and drones. The Arrow 3 is considered the crown jewel of the system, intercepting long-range ballistic missiles that leave the Earth's atmosphere. An earlier version of it is still used to intercept medium- and long-range missiles.
weakness point
However, according to the newspaper, drones are one of the weak points in Israeli air defenses due to their ability to fly low and evade radar systems. The best example of this is the escape of a drone launched by… Houthis From Yemen, from Israeli defenses, until Tel Aviv was struck by surprise in July.
In addition to the above, Israel has developed a new system called “Iron beam“It uses a laser to shoot down projectiles. Security experts believe it could be effective against drones, but it is not yet operational, but some officials believe it could be ready by 2025.
With Iran and Hezbollah threatening Israel with severe retaliation, and Israelis prepared to stay in shelters for a long time, Tal Inbar, an analyst at the US Missile Defense Alliance, said that “the previous attack broke a psychological barrier in Iran” and that both Israel and Iran had learned lessons from it.
Israel knows, according to the writer, that one of the reasons for its success in repelling the April attack is that it relies on other countries for optimal air defense, and that it received several hours of warning, which it may not get if Iran wanted to maximize the damage.
