Missile defense

Israel’s Iron Dome Has Cracked

...The U.S. Army is revitalizing its air defense systems – which have languished since the Cold War – in light of threats from Russian and Chinese ballistic missiles as well as drones fielded by numerous nations. Key to this effort is an integrated approach that combines air defense weapons, sensors and command systems. If Iron Dome can’t be linked to other U.S. defense systems, then its utility is limited.
Iron Dome – partly funded by American military aid to Israel -- was conceived in the early 2000s as a way to protect Israeli towns from Hezbollah and Hamas rockets. Israeli manufacturer Rafael partnered with American defense contractor Raytheon to sell it to the U.S. military.
However, American and Israeli critics have questioned whether Iron Dome is as effective as Israel claims. But the Pentagon also worries that Iron Dome might not function so well outside Israel. “Iron Dome’s a good system,” U.S. Army acquisition chief Bruce Jette said at a recent conference. “It’s designed really well to do what it does – which is [to counter] rockets, artillery, and mortars, in a particular configuration, in a particular environment.”