run out or cost prohibitive, either way it can't last forever... HAMAS makes unguided rockets by the dozen for a few dollars each
Posted on 11/24/2012 7:17:34 PM PST by hamboy
One factor Israel may have considered in agreeing to the recent cease fire with Hamas was a possible shortage of Tamir missiles (used by the Iron Dome system to shoot down rockets). The problem was that Israel was not sure how many long (over 20 kilometers) range rockets (that could reach larger urban areas) Hamas had left. Hamas had managed to fire about a thousand rockets in a week, with most of them hitting unoccupied areas, or being intercepted by Tamir missiles. Israeli aircraft had made over a thousand bombing raids on Gaza, hitting hundreds of rocket storage sites. But the rockets appeared to be stored in small quantities all over the place, often in residential areas. Israel won’t say what their count was of Hamas rockets destroyed by air strikes, but it was apparently less than the 12,000 rockets Hamas is supposed to have. Thus it was possible Israel faced the possibility of running out of Tamir missiles before Hamas ran out of long range rockets. That would mean dozens, or more, dead Israelis. At that point, Israel would have to send in ground troops to shut down Hamas rocket launches. That would also mean more dead Israelis. So, to be on the safe side….
(Excerpt) Read more at strategypage.com ...
http://www.missilethreat.com/missiledefensesystems/id.63,page.1,css.print/system_detail.asp says in service since 2008?
I thought the Iron Dome replacement was going to be David’s Sling?
run out or cost prohibitive, either way it can't last forever... HAMAS makes unguided rockets by the dozen for a few dollars each
Israel has been working on solid state lasers (think super powered laser pointer) for years. The big advantage of solid state lasers is they don’t need to be reloaded or recharged.
The problem was that Israel was not sure how many long (over 20 kilometers) range rockets (that could reach larger urban areas) Hamas had left. Hamas had managed to fire about a thousand rockets in a week, with most of them hitting unoccupied areas, or being intercepted by Tamir missiles. Israeli aircraft had made over a thousand bombing raids on Gaza, hitting hundreds of rocket storage sites. But the rockets appeared to be stored in small quantities all over the place, often in residential areas.
Davids Sling is a higher altitude interceptor used in concert with Iron Dome. The Us and Israel currently use three levels of missile interceptor to capture all possible missile threats.
It would make sense for countries like Taiwan and South Korea to get in on this action. South Korea did express an interest last summer.
Seoul is in range of all kinds of embedded artillery, rocket and missiles the North Koreans have built up along the border.
The numbers I've seen are that the interceptor missiles cost anywhere from $45K to $70K apiece (seen varying numbers). The rockets being fired are about $1K apiece, and they have thousands.
The fundamental idea of this Iron Dome system and others like it is flawed - especially in economic terms. Spend $45K-$70K to shoot down every $1K rocket? That can't last long before you're utterly broke. This is economic FAIL. An alternative solution is required.
This is a classic example of asymmetric warfare.
The answer is full blown pre-emptive war. But the Dome is good to have during the interim period.
The Israelis were evaluating the Skyguard laser a few years back. Each blast supposedly cost $1K, pretty competitive with Iron Dome. Any idea how those trials went?
“The fundamental idea of this Iron Dome system and others like it is flawed - especially in economic terms. Spend $45K-$70K to shoot down every $1K rocket? That can’t last long before you’re utterly broke. This is economic FAIL. An alternative solution is required.”
Funerals aren’t cheap either.
But a few things to consider:
1) Most of the missiles shot from Gaza are not intercepted, but are left to land in remote areas. You don’t get much of a guidance system in a $1,000 missile either.
2) $50k may sound like a lot, but Israel has a GNP of $250B. Just 1% of that GNP will build them 50,000 missiles. We now spend 10% of our GNP on Social Security and Medicare, and another 5% on other welfare - likely Israel is doing the same. Finding 1% of their GNP to build up what would be a near-infinite supply of interceptor missiles is not out of reach for them, and is much, much, less than they currently spend on other areas of their military.
3) While these missiles may cost $1,000 (something that I doubt by the way, at least in regard to the ones that can reach the big cities), they terrorists also have to pay for shipping and assembly. Try pulling that off sometime, when your neighbor has drones working 24/7 overhead. It is doable, but it’s not as quite simple as ordering from Amazon. In other words, there are some really big costs, beyond the sticker price of the missiles.
4) Time is on Israel’s side. They are getting to combat-test their systems and will, of course, be stepping up production, big-time.
5) ...and don’t worry, Israel has plenty more options, but now has some breathing time to consider which is best.
What ya reckon 2 or 3 more cease fires before they get the magic number of missiles to wipe Israel?
If a missle destroys a $250,000 home, it is worth it.
I say use cheap inaccurate munitions on the Palis and save money and time. By doing that the average Johad (Joe) in Gaza will beg HAMAS to stop firing missiles at Israel after a few days of bombardment.
The Gazans sleep well at night knowing that the Israelis are hunting for the bad guys only. The Israelis do not sleep at night knowing that the inaccurate missiles from Gaza can hit anywhere at anytime.
Time to go “primitive” and fire inaccurate missiles into Gaza, then they’ll understand the message. Of course Israel will never adopt this policy...
Good post.
The Israelis are perhaps the most peace loving people on the planet.
Let me explain why. They are a nuclear superpower that also enjoys vast conventional military superiority over all the countries that surround her. These countries all wish for Israel’s destruction.
So what do the peace loving Israelis do? They spend vast amounts of treasure creating systems that can beat back the enemies ability to harm their citizens. This is all so that Israel won’t have to simply kill the enemy in a wholesale slaughter, which would be easily done.
People are asking, did Israel lose? I answer no, If Israel ever loses you will know for certain since then Israel will no longer exist. Egypt still celebrates the 73 war since they claim they won it... I say bullshit, and the existence of Israel is my proof.
When it comes to a nuclear superpower like Israel the question to ask is just who could destroy Israel AND live to tell the tale?
I define a nuclear superpower as a country that has numerous thermonuclear weapons and the ability to deliver them to any spot on the earth in 30 minutes or less. Israel is such a one since they have a heavy launch satellite capability and an ample supply of thermonuclear warheads. Others in this group are USA, China, Britain, France and Russia.
Only the other nuclear superpowers could destroy Israel, and none could survive the encounter intact...they also know this and are led by sane leadership so MAD would prevent them from any such attack on Israel. Therefore, excepting for a fit of absolute insanity by the leadership of another superpower Israel cannot be defeated.
A sneak attack by sub-launched missiles could destroy Israel before she was able to respond using ICBMs but then the adversary has to worry about the Israeli subs and their nuclear cruise missiles. I’d hate to sit and worry about when the crews would launch against my cities.
There are six million Jews wishing nothing more than to be left alone. I recommend that those who wish to live a long life decide leave them alone. Their patience may one day wear thin.
That may be true, but how much would spend to protect our citizens when thousands of Mllsiles were reining down?
I get the protective missile strategy, but in the long run does it make sense to rely upon a purely defensive warplan? At some point the nation has to muster the will to take out the aggressors permanently. And we need to let them.
Do you remember the crap they took when they used US made cluster bombs 20 years ago? I hope they still have them in their arsenal because they need them when the horde tries to overwhelm them with millions of Arab dumb bombs...aka; Arabs.
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