Israel’s Vaunted Integrated Air Defense System Explained
Source:
( ) Israel’s Vaunted Integrated Air Defense System Explained:https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/all-the-layers-of-israels-vaunted-integrated-air-defense-system
( )The Iron Dome: Israel's Ultimate Missile Defence: https://youtu.be/aWt301HpV9U
Rafael Advanced Defense Systems
Israel’s Vaunted Integrated Air Defense System Explained
Spurred by potent regional threats, Israel’s air defense system is arguably the most capable on Earth and it may soon be put to the test.
BYTHOMAS NEWDICK
OCT 20, 2023
Israel is in possession of arguably the most sophisticated multi-layered integrated air defense system (IADS) found anywhere in the world. As tensions grow around the ongoing Israel-Gaza conflict, concerns are mounting that a wider war could draw in Hezbollah, with its own giant arsenal that can strike deep into Israel, and perhaps also Iran, a major backer of both Hamas and, especially, Hezbollah. Were such a scenario to unfold, Israel would be hugely reliant upon its IADS for protection from thousands of incoming projectiles. So, it’s a better time than any to profile the primary weapon systems that comprise Israel’s highly unique aerial shield.
Editor's note:This piece was finalized before the successful intercept of drones and cruise missiles launched from Iranian proxies in the Red Sea region and intercepted as the headed north, towards Israel, by the American destroyer USS Carney. You can read more about that incident in our coverage here, but it highlights how critical Israel's air defenses are, especially if a multi-front war were to breakout, which could happen at any given time.
Palestinian militants fire a salvo of rockets in response to Israeli airstrikes in Gaza City, on October 10, 2023. Photo by Ahmed Zakot/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images
First, it’s worth looking briefly at the nature of the threats that the Israeli air defense system was developed to counter. On the one hand, Israel’s most immediate adversaries, namely Hamas and Hezbollah, have made significant advances in recent years in terms of expanding and improving their rocket and missile arsenals, presenting new challenges for the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF).
The sheer scale of the potential Hezbollah threat — more than 100,000 rockets of various types — provides a huge air defense challenge. As well as rockets, ballistic missiles, and mortars, groups like these are also increasingly able to deploy long-range suicide drones and cruise missiles. Hamas, while less advanced, also has suicide and those capable of dropping bomblets, as well as an increasingly capable artillery rocket arsenal. Countering all of this demands a diverse cocktail of solutions.
Outside of these militant groups, there is the specter of a possible attack launched from Iran, Israel’s major regional opponent. Tehran has been busily developing and proliferating unmanned aircraft, rocket, and missile technology to its proxies throughout the Middle East, as well as assembling a vast arsenal of its own, with Israel very much in its sights. Iran's stable of increasingly advanced ballistic missiles, some of which are proven to be quite accurate, is arguably most concerning. Iran’s cruise missiles and long-range drones, which can be launched from places other than Iran where the IRGC and its proxies operate, are also extremely troubling.
An Iranian Ghadr ballistic missile is launched during a test in northern Iran on March 9, 2016. Photo by MAHMOOD HOSSEINI/TASNIM NEWS/AFP via Getty Images
Then there are still parts of the Arab world that Israel has to prepared to confront even though relations have become much better in recent years. But the specters of the past still loom large, and these countries have arsenals that are far more advanced than even a decade ago, eroding Israel's qualitative superiority in the region.
The following primer first details the major elements of Israel’s ground-based air defense system, starting at the lower tier (in terms of altitude) and working its way up to anti-ballistic missile systems, before looking at the manned aircraft — fighters and helicopters — and warships that also form part of this overall air defensive package.
MANPADS
Little is known in the public domain about the IDF’s stockpile of man-portable air defense systems (MANPADS), although it is known to possess the widely used U.S.-made FIM-92 Stinger. While typically issued to troops for local air defense on the battlefield, the Stinger is nonetheless also useful for the point defense of critical infrastructure and can certainly be employed in this capacity by Israel. Although, Iron Dome and Israel's advanced IADS overall would drastically reduce the need for these weapons in that role.
An Israeli soldier prepares to fire with a Stinger portable anti-air missile. Photo by Antoine GYORI/Sygma via Getty Images
As we have discussed in the past, the Stinger is a short-range weapon optimized for low-level threats, although it does offer a significant engagement envelope, especially compared with previous-generation shoulder-launched missiles. While the Stinger is still optimized for targeting lower and slower-flying threats, like helicopters, it can also engage various types of higher-flying and faster-moving fixed-wing aircraft, should they get close enough. Typically, the MANPADS envelope is below around 15,000 feet, which means these kinds of weapons can also have an important role in defending against both cruise missiles and low-flying drones, something the ongoing war in Ukraine has repeatedly demonstrated. Stinger was specifically upgraded in recent years to counter small unmanned systems, as well.
Machbet
The Stinger is also integrated into the IDF’s Machbet short-range air defense system (SHORADS), which is a combined gun/missile system on a self-propelled tracked chassis, based on the M113 armored personnel carrier.
The Machbet (Hebrew for racket) is primarily intended to accompany troops on the move, specifically mechanized forces, and defend them from air attack.
The vehicle is based on the M163 Vulcan Air Defense System (VADS), specifically the Product-Improved VADS (PIVADS) introduced in the mid-1980s.
The Machbet was produced in the mid-1990s via an upgrade of existing IDF PIVADS, adding four FIM-92 Stinger missiles (plus reloads) in addition to the M168 Vulcan 20mm rotary cannon. The Machbet also added the ability to interface with the EL/M-2106 ATAR (Advanced Tactical Acquisition Radar) for surveillance, and the vehicle was fitted with an improved electro-optical sight system, including a forward-looking infrared sensor. This not only helps to detect and engage targets, but to rapidly identify them visually before doing so.
The current operational status of the Machbet is unclear, although with the IDF continuing to operate large numbers of M113-series vehicles, it’s unlikely that it will be disposed of entirely any time soon. In particular, the growing threat posed by suicide drones, as well as cruise missiles, arguably makes the Machbet more useful than ever, despite the overall age of the system.
Iron Dome
Already something of a signature weapon in the IDF armory, due to its performance in past conflicts, the Iron Dome system was developed specifically to counter small and fast-flying targets — typically the rockets, artillery shells, and mortar rounds that pose a threat to populated areas of Israel. However, aided by updates to the system, Iron Dome is also capable of intercepting cruise missiles, drones, and more.
A general view of an Israel Iron Dome air defense system, deployed to intercept rockets launched from Gaza City, over the southern city of Sderot. Photo by Saeed Qaq/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images
The IDF first declared Iron Dome, which it had developed with significant assistance from the United States, operational in March 2011.
The Tamir missile used in the Iron Dome is fitted with a very sensitive active radar seeker, onboard autopilot, and a command datalink system to chase down an incoming rocket and then get to within extremely close range of it.
The missile’s warhead is designed to detonate with perfect timing, thanks to a 360-degree staring laser system, located in a collar arrangement on the forward body of the missile, behind the seeker. This proximity fuse system detects the targeted object as it begins to pass abeam the missile and triggers the onboard warhead. As it detonates, the high-explosive warhead erupts outward in a ring of shrapnel in a wedge-shaped pattern around the missile.
In fact, the missile is so agile and accurate that it will often actually slam into the incoming target, although it’s certainly not designed as a true hit-to-kill weapon.
The Tamir missile as used by Iron Dome. Rafael
Overall, the Tamir uses a high degree of miniaturization yet is hardened enough to withstand the extreme G forces sustained by the super-maneuverable interceptor.
A single Tamir costs somewhere between $40,000 and $100,000, depending on the sources consulted. Usually, two missiles are launched at each target to increase the probability of kill. This could change during massive barrages and as the number of interceptors in IDF stocks dwindles during a prolonged conflict. The missiles are intended to self-destruct if they do not engage a target. The heavily automated Iron Dome system also prioritizes projectiles that appear to be on a trajectory to hit population centers.
Israel currently has 10 Iron Dome batteries, although the number of launchers can vary, and they are seen as highly prized assets. Back in 2020, the Israeli Ministry of Defense claimed that Iron Dome had successfully intercepted approximately 85 percent of all targets it had faced throughout its operational history.
The Iron Dome is frequently the subject of media attention due to the dramatic light show that can result from it being used at night. It’s not uncommon for a salvo of Tamirs to stream out of Iron Dome batteries during a large barrage, or even by mistake.
In the current conflict, at least some videos showing Iron Dome in action have been misidentified as Iron Beam, a different system which we will discuss next.
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