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Experts who took part in the test of the David's Sling anti-missile system david sling test successfulWednesday were elated at its success, according to a report by Maariv's Yochai Ofer. Pini Yungman, who heads the Missile Defense Systems Authority in Rafael Advanced Defense Systems said the test, in which an interceptor missile brought down a missile fired in simulation of an enemy attack, had made "history." "We have developed 'next generation' technology here for a system that will provide a solution for future threats. You could say that all of the systems worked perfectly. The jewel in the crown is...

Israel deployed its Iron Dome missile defense system near Jerusalem Sunday, an AFP correspondent said.iron dome golan israel syria strike. The correspondent said the battery was set up west of the city. A military spokeswoman would not comment on the deployment, saying only that "defense systems are deployed in accordance with situation assessments." An IDF source said that the system's deployment is a routine part of the way it is tested, by being transferred from place to place. Late last month a battery of the mobile system was set up in the greater Tel Aviv area, pointing northwards towards Syria....

At least four rockets were fired from Lebanon Thursday afternoon, with at least one confirmed as having struck in the area of Nahariya. IDF Radio reported that bomb shelters in the northern city of Akko (Acre) have been opened for public use, and the IDF is urging residents of the north to remain close to shelters. There are unconfirmed reports that the IDF has responded with artillery fire into Lebanon

JERUSALEM (AP) -- The Israeli military shot down a rocket launched toward a Red Sea resort town near the border with Egypt on Tuesday, the army said. It was the first time Israel's Iron Dome missile defense system successfully intercepted a rocket attack on the resort of Eilat, the military said. The incident came after days of heightened tension along the Egypt-Israel border. The army said the rocket was intercepted early Tuesday and that there were no injuries. It didn't provide more details and declined to comment on the origins of the projectile. An al-Qaida-inspired militant group based in Egypt's...

JERUSALEM (AP) -- The Israeli military on Tuesday shot down a rocket launched from neighboring Egypt toward a popular Red Sea resort, and an al-Qaida-linked militant group claimed responsibility for the attack, fueling concerns that jihadist groups are trying to disrupt the Israeli-Egyptian peace treaty. It was the first time that Israel has deployed its "Iron Dome" rocket defense system in Eilat, a normally placid resort near Egypt's Sinai peninsula that is popular with Israeli and European tourists. The incident came after days of heightened tension along the Egypt-Israel border fueled by an Egyptian crackdown on militant groups. The area...

Despite pledges by US President Barack Obama and key congressional leaders to shield the Israeli Iron Dome from sequestration cuts, Israel has offered to waive funding protection, reports Defense News, which says Israel has been “insisting it should bear its share of the burden.” “Our position is we must bear the burden that our American friends are bearing,” Michael Oren, Israel’s ambassador in Washington, told the website in an interview to be published in an upcoming edition. Sources from both countries told the website that this is “a painful, yet pragmatic price for the goodwill to be generated among longtime...

Full video of Netanyahu-Obama press conference and full text of U.S. President's statements. U.S. President Barack Obama announced Wednesday in a news conference with Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu that he would take steps to ensure that U.S. funding for Iron Dome is not interrupted. snip This is the full text of Obama's remarks after meeting Netanyahu for almost three hours. snip

Barack Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have said they share the same goals, as the US leader makes his first visit to Israel as president. Speaking in Jerusalem, the two leaders said they agreed that Israel had the right to "defend itself by itself". Mr Obama said there was "not a lot of light" between the US and Israel in assessing Iran's nuclear programme. The leaders also reaffirmed their commitment to a two-state solution to the Israel-Palestinian conflict. snip Following talks in Jerusalem, Mr Netanyahu said the fact the US president had made Israel the first foreign visit...

During his trip to Israel this month, U.S. President Barack Obama is expected to pay a visit to the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, members of his delegation told Israeli government ministry representatives on Monday. According to a high-ranking Israeli official, that stop, scheduled for Friday, March 22, was added to his itinerary only in the past few days. UNESCO recognized the Church of the Nativity as a Palestinian World Heritage Site in June 2012, several months after Palestine became a full-fledged member of the organization. The advance American delegation responsible for organizing President Obama´s visit

Israel’s Stunner emerges on India’s radar SUJAN DUTTA Bangalore, Feb. 6: Behind Israel’s Iron Dome for India is a Stunner in the works. Israel, India’s furtive defence supplier that both countries keep shrouded behind layers of confidentiality, has outed itself in the Aero India 9th edition here. A truck-mounted launcher from its Iron Dome missile system greets visitors at the entrance to the biannual event in the IAF’s Yelahanka airbase that showcases the air combat inventory that India has on its wish list. The Iron Dome, successfully demonstrated in last year’s short sharp war between Israel and militants in the...

Sen. Rand Paul says The White House, Capitol buildings, and key U.S. cities should build their own versions of Israel's Iron Dome to defend them from missile attacks, BuzzFeed reports. “I saw presentations of the Iron Dome and it was very impressive … [I am] absolutely in favor of it,” Paul told reporters in a conference call after touring Israel and Jordan. …

Using lasers for tracking objects through the sky has been possible for years, but there's never been anything like Lockheed's new laser defense system successfully tested last week. It's not that using high-powered lasers to drop incoming missiles is anything new, and was achieved by Boeing with a nine-year Air Force project that was canceled in 2011. That monster laser was packed into a 747 and designed to head off ballistic missiles fired at the U.S. from very far away. Raytheon then tested their laser defense on a drone for the Navy in 2010, but now Lockheed's distilled the process...

India wants license to produce Iron Dome - report "Defense News": Israel is uncertain whether to let India have the technology to produce the rocket interception system. Israel and India are discussing cooperating in the development of weapons systems. "Defense News" reports from New Delhi that one of the aspects of this trend is India's wish to procure and manufacture the Iron Dome system against short-range missiles. During a visit to India last week, Ministry of Defense director general Udi Shani discussed with India's Defense Secretary Shashi Kant Sharma the progress of current defense projects by the two countries and...

Israel strengthened its military deterrence during the recent clash with Hamas by demonstrating that its Iron Dome missile defense intercepted Israel-bound rockets from Gaza 84 percent of the time. Most media accounts of Iron Dome in action marveled at its precision performance in preventing most of the rockets from reaching their targets in southern Israel - although a few did get through its new defensive net. Iron Dome was widely credited with keeping Israeli casualties to a bare minimum. But that's not exactly the view of the Washington Post in its Sunday, Dec. 9, edition. In a front-page article that...

A large mob of Palestinians attempted to break through the fence separating the Gaza Strip from Israel on Wednesday, ignoring warnings to desist from IDF troops who fired shots at the legs of the rioters, leading to seven Palestinians being wounded.

A new Israeli air shield against rockets more powerful than those intercepted by Iron Dome in the Gaza conflict passed its first field test last week after being rushed through development, officials said on Sunday. They said that David's Sling, billed as Israel's answer to the longer-range missiles of Lebanese Hezbollah guerrillas and Syria, shot down a target rocket in a secret November 20 desert trial that coincided with fierce shelling exchanges between Israel and Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. Worried about deteriorating security on the fronts with Gaza, Lebanon and Syria, and the international showdown over the disputed nuclear...

In the wake of the great success of the Iron Dome anti-missile system, which was able to intercept many of the rockets fired from Gaza at populated areas during Operation Pillar of Defense, Israel is now pushing ahead with the development of Magic Wand, which is supposed to be able to intercept short-range and medium-range rockets. According to a report in the Boston Globe on Saturday, Israel will test the system in the Negev in the coming days. Magic Wand, the report said, is being developed by the Israeli Rafael Advanced Defense Systems Ltd. in cooperation with the American company...

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...

A Facebook friend of mine recently posted: “I love you, Iron Dome, and I want to have your babies.” Such is the outpouring of love and appreciation for an extraordinary piece of Israeli technology that has saved many lives in southern and central Israel. Nevertheless, despite this appreciation, there has been little analysis of the true strategic significance of Iron Dome. Iron Dome is a game-changer that not only consigns Hamas’ and Hezbollah’s current terror model to the trash can, it completely undermines the military doctrines of all of Israel’s enemies. Before we discuss this fundamental strategic shift in detail,...

The performance of the revolutionary Iron Dome system in the ongoing defense of Israel from Hamas rocket attacks, dubbed Operation Pillar of Defense, has been so extraordinary as to be considered by all but the most hardline critics to have proven the efficacy of missile defense. By November 20, six days since Hamas dramatically increased the volume of rocket fire against Israel, 340 intercepts had been made, with the Iron Dome system achieving a greater than 80 percent success rate. For Israel, this capability not only saves lives but also provides the government with precious time to contemplate a response...

JERUSALEM — An abiding image of the former Israel defense minister Amir Peretz was a photograph of him peering at a military drill — with the black lens caps still on his binoculars. Mr. Peretz resigned months after the 2006 war in Lebanon, which was widely regarded as a failure. Yet on Sunday, as rockets fired by Gaza militants streaked toward Tel Aviv, Ashdod and other Israeli cities, Mr. Peretz, a resident of the rocket-battered border town of Sderot, was being hailed as a defense visionary for having had the foresight while in office to face down myriad skeptics and...

Security: As Hamas launches rockets toward Israeli population centers, Tel Aviv's investment in missile defense passes its acid test, destroying the vast majority. The U.S., meanwhile, is moving in just the opposite direction. On Sunday, Israel's Iron Dome missile defense system successfully shot down two Iranian-made Fajr-5 rockets aimed at the heart of Tel-Aviv by Hamas' armed wing, the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades. It was just one of many such interceptions by what is now the world's only battle-tested missile defense system. The "Fajr" (Dawn) series are mobile-launched, unguided, solid-fuel artillery rockets developed by Iran during the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq war with...

Security: As Hamas launches rockets toward Israeli population centers, Tel Aviv's investment in missile defense passes its acid test, destroying the vast majority. The U.S., meanwhile, is moving in just the opposite direction. On Sunday, Israel's Iron Dome missile defense system successfully shot down two Iranian-made Fajr-5 rockets aimed at the heart of Tel-Aviv by Hamas' armed wing, the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades. It was just one of many such interceptions by what is now the world's only battle-tested missile defense system. The "Fajr" (Dawn) series are mobile-launched, unguided, solid-fuel artillery rockets developed by Iran during the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq war with...

The Iron Dome intercepted two Iranian-made Fajr-5 missiles aimed at Tel Aviv on Saturday. The missiles marked the third attack on the heavily populated central city in as many days, after Palestinian terrorists from Gaza fired four missiles toward the financial capital on Thursday and Friday, prompting red alert air raid sirens to sound in the city.

Iran jeered at Israel's air defenses Sunday while confirming that Tehran had provided Lebanon's proxy Lebanese militia Hizbullah with the sophisticated drone that passed over the skies of the Jewish state earlier this month. Iran's "capabilities are very high and are at the disposal and service of Islamic nations," said Defense Minister General Ahmad Vahidi when asked about the origins of the unmanned aerial craft. "It is natural to use whatever we have at our disposal at the necessary time to defend the lands of the Islamic world…This move shows that Hizbullah is fully prepared ... and will respond to...

July 28, 2012Pelosi: Republican Jews 'Being Exploited' Daniel Halper In an interview, House minority leader Nancy Pelosi said that she believes Republican Jews are "being exploited," but she was sure to add, "And they're smart people." Pelosi made the comments in response to whether Jewish voters would support President Barack Obama in the presidential election later this year. "I think [Obama] will" win the Jewish vote, Pelosi said, when pressed on the subject. "I think that he will, because the fact is when the facts get out. You know, as many of the Republicans are using Israel as an excuse,...

Hamas’ Prime Minister in Gaza, Ismail Haniyeh, criticized on Friday the U.S. decision to provide Israel with aid to purchase additional Iron Dome batteries. According to a report on Kol Yisrael radio, Haniyeh made the comments to pro-Palestinian Authority activists from several Arab and Muslim countries. Haniyeh claimed that providing aid to Israel will encourage it “to continue its war crimes.” On Thursday, U.S. Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta told Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak that the United States will immediately give Israel $70 million for additional Iron Dome batteries. Washington has already given Israel $205 million for the Iron...

US Wants a Stake in Israel’s Iron Dome Technology Defense lawmakers in the U.S. House of Representatives are demanding ‘rights to Israel’s Iron Dome Technology’ before releasing the requested $680 million to follow-on production of the Iron Dome anti-rocket weapon systems for Israel, Washington news blog The Hill reports. “The United States has invested nearly $900 million into Iron Dome work, yet it has no rights to the technology involved,” according to the subcommittee’s legislation. The House proposal should share some rights to the weapon’s proprietary technology “as is consistent with prior U.S.-Israeli missile defense cooperation,” according to the subcommittee....

Israel has asked the United States for assistance estimated at $700 million in order to produce more Iron Dome and Magic Wand missile and rocket defense batteries, sources told Ynet on Wednesday. The Iron Dome is designed to intercept rockets fired from a relatively short range, while the Magic Wand intercepts missiles fired from a range of at least 70km, including cruise missiles and missiles with ballistic warheads such as the Squd, Shihab and Sejil. According to sources privy to the deal, Jerusalem and Washington are currently discussing the aid package, which if approved will allow Israel to equip its...

Key leaders of the U.S. Congress want U.S. President Barack Obama to provide funds to help Israel, should it request it, to produce more batteries of the Iron Dome counter-rocket system. Israel's air force has three batteries deployed to protect cities in the southern Negev Desert against rockets fired by Palestinian militants in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip but budget problems mean it can't fund more batteries needed to shield the rest of the country. Iron Dome, which racked up a 90 percent kill rate against Palestinian Qassam and Grad rockets in recent weeks, was developed by Rafael Advanced Defense Systems...

IRON DOME, acting on the usual: Muslim Arab-Palestinians target civilians, Israel defends "Palestinians" in Gaza began (again) a barrage of [about 120] missiles upon Israeli towns, targeting civilians. Israel uses 'Iron Dome' defense system.Gantz: IDF will continue to respond forcefully, sensitively [Ynetnews] Published: 03.11.12, 13:25 / Israel News IDF Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Benny Gantz said: “Zuhir al-Qaisi and other terrorists killed were involved in planning a deadly terror attack against Israeli civilians, which was suppose to come out of Gaza through Sinai.�“Over 120 rockets have been fired at Israel and 20% of them could have caused death and...

Facing the worst barrage of rockets from Palestinian militants since 2009, Israel is getting a boost from a new interceptor system that destroys missiles in midair before they fall on population centers. The "Iron Dome" missile system has provided an added layer of security for Israel's homeland by downing dozens of rockets in the past four days, buying more time for the country's leaders to confront militants with less citizen pressure to stem hostilities. The system underlines Israel's shifting doctrine of emphasizing defense capabilities in addition to its offensive firepower, and offers a preview of how Israel will handle any...

Palestinian terrorists fired more than 160 rockets at dozens of civilian targets from Friday through Sunday, injuring three Israeli citizens and causing extensive damage. The escalated rocket attacks were in apparent retaliation for an Israeli strike against one of the major commanders of the Popular Resistance Committees (PRC), which was planning terrorist attacks by infiltrating through the Sinai. The commander, Zuhair al-Qaissi, also planned and carried out attacks through the Sinai last August that killed eight Israelis. Three other terrorists were killed in the strike which precipitated a blizzard of rocket fire from the PRC that struck several towns in...

The Israel Air Force’s Iron Dome rocket-defense system intercepted 27 rockets fired from the Gaza Strip over the weekend, raising the interception rate from 75 percent last year to over 90%. Israel currently has three Iron Dome batteries in operation – in Ashkelon, Ashdod and Beersheba – and plans to deploy the fourth in the coming months. Its plan is to deploy a total of nine batteries by mid-2013. The battery in Ashdod intercepted 11 rockets out of 13 fired into the city; the battery in Ashkelon intercepted one rocket and purposely did not intercept four others since they were...

The IDF is planning to deploy an Iron Dome battery in the Tel Aviv Metropolitan Area for the first time as part of a drill simulating a missile attack, Ynet learned Sunday. The Iron Dome system aims to provide protection from medium-range rockets used by Hamas and Hezbollah and is part of Israel's multi-layered defense layout which also includes the Arrow 2 and Magic Wand systems. Residents of Central Israel will be able to get a closer look at the Iron Dome battery which has been found to be effective in intercepting rockets fired at southern communities. The aim is...

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is reportedly trying to rally support for an attack on Iran, according to government sources. Defense Minister Ehud Barak and Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman are said to be among those backing a pre-emptive strike to neutralize Iran's nuclear ambitions, Sky News reports. A "narrow majority" of ministers currently oppose the move, which could lead to retaliation. In response to reports of an effort to gain cabin approval on Netanyahu's proposal, Lieberman said: "Iran poses the most dangerous threat to world order." Lieberman added that Israel's military options should not be a matter for public discussion.

Thousands of residents of southern Israel spent Shabbat in bomb shelters, as Hamas terrorists from Gaza continued firing rockets at Israeli targets in the Negev. Since Thursday, Arab terrorists have fired over 100 mortar shells and Kassam rockets at Israeli targets, with fifty fired since early Saturday. The rockets hit not only areas near the border, but areas further inside Israel, including the Ashkelon area. Four Grad-style Katyusha rockets hit areas near the city, but there were no injuries or damage reported. However, several people were hospitalized for shock, and as of Saturday night, three were still in the hospital....

JERUSALEM – An anti-tank missile fired from the Gaza Strip struck a school bus in southern Israel Thursday, wounding two people, one of them critically, and prompting fierce Israeli retaliation that killed five Palestinians. Israel unleashed airstrikes and tank fire against Hamas targets across the border. It was the heaviest assault on the coastal territory since a broad military offensive two years ago. Besides the dead, more than 30 Palestinians were wounded, said Palestinian health official Adham Abu Salmiya. He said one of the dead was a 50-year-old civilian who was sitting outside his home when he was struck by...

Ashkelon residents report seeing Grad explode in midair as dozens of rockets fired at south, meanwhile Hamas says Israel taking advantage of Goldstone's regret over Gaza war report to bomb Strip

Israel on Sunday prepared to deploy the first units of its recently-developed Iron Dome anti-missile system to battered Israeli towns within range of the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip. But Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is already warning that the Iron Dome will not be able to stop all Palestinian missile attacks emanating from Gaza. Gaza-based terrorists have been firing an increasing number of short-range Kassam and more advanced Grad missiles into southern Israel over the past week. Last week, several missiles reached as far north Rishon Lezion and Yavne, towns just 10 miles south of Tel Aviv. Many of the missiles...

Some defense officials warn of ramifications of deploying system without ability to protect all of cities under missile fire. As missile fire from the Gaza Strip escalated on Thursday, the IDF is preparing for the possible deployment of the Iron Dome counter-rocket defense system along Israel’s border with Gaza. In late February, the Israeli Air Force held a test of the counter-rocket defense system, Iron Dome, which was supposed to serve as the final stage before declaring the system operational. While a month has passed since then, the system is nowhere to be found despite the recent escalation and daily...

The Iron Dome missile intercept system will be declared operational within a number of weeks, after the Israel Air Force – who will be responsible for operating the system – conducted successful test-runs for the first time on Tuesday and Wednesday. The interception of target missiles in the test-runs proved successful, and this marked the final stage of tests of the new Israel Air Force unit. The operation was conducted at a test site in southern Israel, practicing five different scenarios in which the system launched rockets at various ranges. The missiles launched by the Iron Dome successfully intercepted and...

The IDF’s "Magic Wand" (Sharvit Kesamim) system for intercepting intermediate-range rockets was successfully tested last week, the BaMachane military magazine reports in its latest issue. The tests took place in southern Israel last week and were conducted by the Defense Ministry and Rafael Advanced Defense Systems under the attack conditions that Israel expects. At the end of the experiments it was estimated that the system will become operational within several years. Magic Wand is intended to deal with a wide range of threats, and is essentially designed to fill a gap between the Iron Dome system for short-range missiles, such...

The Israeli military revealed that its new Iron Dome anti-rocket system was not meant for defending towns and villages, but military bases. For years, politicians touted Iron Dome as a means of defending civilians living close to rockets fired from Gaza in the south and Lebanon in the north. But it turns out that it takes about 15 seconds for Iron Dome to detect, identify and fire its missiles. But most of the civilian targets currently under fire from Gaza are so close to the border (within 13 kilometers) that the rockets are fired and land in less than 15...

After months of deliberations, the IDF has decided to store the Iron Dome anti-rocket system at an air force base in the center of the country and to deploy it only in cases of extreme rocket fire from either the Gaza Strip or southern Lebanon, senior military sources said on Sunday. The decision was made ahead of the planned announcement that Iron Dome had reached “initial operational capability,” initially scheduled for this month. On Sunday, top IDF officers told The Jerusalem Post that the initial operational capability would be postponed until the first quarter of 2011. The delay, the officers...

Israel will deploy in November its anti-missile system designed to combat threats from the Gaza Strip and Lebanon, the defence ministry said on Monday. "The Iron Dome interceptor, in conjunction with air force and anti-aircraft systems, successfully downed a large number of threats in fully operational mode," the ministry said in statement. "The first two batteries will become operational in November 2010," it said adding that "the defence ministry will soon place orders for additional batteries." The system is designed to intercept short-range rockets and artillery shells, of which Hamas and the Hezbollah have fired thousands at Israel in the...

Israel inched a step closer recently to deploying a missile defense system along the border with the Gaza Strip after the Iron Dome system successfully intercepted a number of missile barrages in tests. The tests were overseen by the Defense Ministry, the Israel Air Force and the Rafael Advanced Defense Systems Ltd. which developed the Iron Dome, slated to be declared operational in the near future. Israel inched a step closer recently to deploying a missile defense system along the border with the Gaza Strip after the Iron Dome system successfully intercepted a number of missile barrages in tests. The...

The US House of Representatives on Thursday overwhelmingly backed President Barack Obama's plans to help Israel deploy an anti-missile system, in an unmistakable election-year show of support. By a 410-4 margin, lawmakers endorsed Obama's plan to give Israel 205 million dollars for its production of a short-range rocket defense system called "Iron Dome." "With nearly every square inch of Israel at risk from rocket and missile attacks, we must ensure that our most important ally in the region has the tools to defend itself," said House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Howard Berman. "The looming threat of a nuclear-armed Iran, and...

The budgetary difficulty that has been delaying Israel's armament with the anti-missile defense system Iron Dome has apparently been resolved. The Pentagon has issued a message to Israel's Defense Ministry that U.S. President Barack Obama has approved the transfer of special assistance totaling $205 million (just under NIS 800 million) for the purchase of more than ten Iron Dome batteries. Iron Dome defense system gets new backer: Barack Obama U.S. agrees to fund anti-missile defense system, long delayed due to budgetary difficulties, beyond regular annual defense assistance afforded to Israel. The budgetary difficulty that has been delaying Israel's armament with...

As Hezbollah builds up its rocket arsenal, Israel has asked Washington to help pay for more Iron Dome anti-missile batteries to shield the Jewish state. The Jerusalem Post reports that the Israeli Defense Ministry wants to buy more than a dozen batteries of the system designed to counter short-range missiles fired by the Iranian-backed Lebanese guerrillas and Palestinian Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip. The ministry had allocated $250 million for the development of the system, the bottom layer of a planned three-tier missile defense shield, and the purchase of two batteries. Each Iron Dome battery costs around $25 million,...