Free Republic

Israel's air defence system is one of the most effective in the world. The Iron Dome began operating in 2011, largely in response to the 2006 war that ended with Hamas taking control of Gaza the following year. It uses radars to detect and intercept short-range rockets, missiles and drones. The Iron Dome was developed by Israel's state-owned Rafael Advanced Defence Systems with US support. The system consists of a series of truck-towed mobile units placed strategically throughout the country. When their radars detect a threat, the information is sent to a 'battle management centre' where military personnel analyse it,...

Israel has used the ship-based version of its Iron Dome air defense system for the first time in combat. Installed aboard an Israeli Navy Sa’ar 6 class corvette, the navalized Rafael Iron Dome — known as C-Dome — successfully intercepted a drone over the Red Sea. The engagement also comes just a week after one of the Sa'ar 6 class warships was almost struck by a drone launched by militants in Iraq.

Defense contractor Raytheon has been tasked with designing, building, and testing a pair of directed energy weapons for the U.S. Navy and U.S. Air Force. Unlike cutting-edge laser systems that use the power of light to down airborne threats, the new weapons will use ultra-powerful microwave emitters to fry the electronics of attacking drones, missiles, and other electronically guided ordinance. According to RTX Corporation, which owns Raytheon, the two prototypes are expected to be delivered in 2024 and 2026, respectively. DIRECTED ENERGY WEAPONS INCREASINGLY VALUABLE IN ASYMMETRICAL WARFARE Traditional munitions like bullets use kinetic force to damage or destroy attacking...

Genocidal racist Arab "Palestinian" attempt to massacre some 12,000 Israelis VS fake Hamas Gaza-death-ministry's "numbers" on its civilian pawns While the "Palestinian" Arab islamic grnocidal regime provides fake numbers to MSM (of their pawns as human shields):EoZProof that Gaza Health Ministry just makes casualty statistics up Here is a table of the number of Palestinians killed, according to the Gaza Health Ministry (as reported by UN-OCHA), on these days in mid-October.DateNumber claimed killedCumulative number 13-Oct190014-Oct328222815-Oct442267016-Oct138280817-Oct192300018-Oct478347819-Oct307378520-Oct352413721-Oct248438522-Oct266465123-Oct4365087According to the ministry, Israel killed several hundred people on most days.Now, look at the figures from October 18, covering the alleged deaths from October 17.The...

The US has launched retaliatory airstrikes on two locations in eastern Syria linked to Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps, the Pentagon has said. And "insane bureaucracy" at the Rafah crossing from Egypt into Gaza is slowing the delivery of aid to a "dribble", according to a UN official. An "insane" amount of bureaucracy at the Rafah crossing from Egypt into Gaza is slowing the delivery of aid to a "dribble", the head of the UN's World Food Programme has said. The number of lorries being allowed in is a fraction of that entering the territory before the conflict began. The United...

... 14:02 - a direct hit to a building in Tel Aviv, following a barrage of missiles to the center of the country and the lowlands; A 53-year-old and a 20-year-old were moderately injured and two other men were slightly injured from smoke inhalation. Apparently the damage is on the fourth floor of the building. At the same time, several successful interceptions of Iron Dome were carried out in the skies of Gush Dan. 13:43 - Alarms in Ashdod. One rocket was intercepted from the Gaza Strip and successfully intercepted by the Iron Dome system, no casualties or damage....

Apparently, the first-ever use of an Iron Beam combat laser was used in repelling a missile attack on Tel Aviv this evening. pic.twitter.com/1grGAlXzKG — Sprinter (@Sprinter99800) October 15, 2023 Here is the first video of the Israeli Iron Beam, laser air defense system, intercepting enemy rockets, from today. Via Midnight Rider and Amir Tsarfati:

Senator Rand Paul has faced criticism for previously trying to block funding for Israel's Iron Dome defense system following Hamas' attack against Israel over the weekend.

Link only per posting rules.

This is a pretty darn impressive video of the Iron Dome in action.

Moscow’s deadly air assault on Ukrainian cities has ramped up pressure on Western nations to rush air defense systems to the embattled country, but it is still unlikely to receive one of the world’s most effective tools against incoming projectiles. Israel’s Iron Dome air defense, which boasts a 90 percent success rate against rockets fired against it, will stay out of Ukraine’s reach, said experts, as Jerusalem seeks to maintain strategic relations with Russia in Syria and other hot spots.

The Israeli military responded with artillery fire on Sunday night after a rocket was launched into Israel from southern Lebanon, the Israel Defense Forces said in a statement. As calculations of the rocket’s trajectory indicated that it would come down in an open area, no sirens were triggered and the Iron Dome air-defense system did not intercept it, according to the IDF. The IDF Artillery Corps fired “tens” of shells at the launch site and open areas in southern Lebanon, and an “infrastructure target” was also attacked, the military said. There were no reports of casualties or damage, and no...

Zaher Jabarin, one of Hamas' leaders, has threatened to fire over 1,000 rockets at Israel, Channel 12 News reported. Last year, Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar referenced the number 1,111 but did not detail the context. At the time, he said, "We are confident in our ability to obtain our rights and remember the number 1,111." It was assumed then that the number was in reference to how many terrorists Hamas would demand released in the next prisoner swap. Now, Jabarin has clarified, in Sinwar's name, that 1,111 is the number of rockets which will be fired during the first barrage...

Israel's new laser missile defense system has successfully intercepted mortars, rockets and anti-tank missiles in recent tests, Defense Minister Benny Gantz said Thursday. The Israeli-made laser system, designed to complement a series of aerial defense systems such as the costly Iron Dome deployed by Israel, will be operational “as soon as possible,” Gantz said. The goal is to deploy the laser systems around Israel's borders over the next decade, Gantz added. The tests took place last month in the Negev Desert. Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said in February that Israel would begin using the system within a year, sending a...

Rep. Jamaal Bowman (N.Y.), an "active" member of the DSA, was hammered on a private message board of the organization in the final weeks of last year for traveling to Israel, with many members calling for the national organization to expel him. One socialist on the message board posting as RyanMosgrove said Bowman’s conduct was in "direct opposition" to the DSA’s "stated values and goals," and that he "should not remain a member." Another socialist posting as Gabe said Bowman's trip to Israel empowered an apartheid state...The group's message board requires a login for anyone to access its posts. At...

WASHINGTON – US Senator Rand Paul (R-Kentucky) voted on Wednesday to block another attempt to provide Israel with $1 billion to replenish its Iron Dome system, citing the need to find a financial source to the bill. The vote took place as Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-Connecticut) asked for unanimous consent for the Senate to proceed with the House version of the bill. “The Senate must pass HR 5323 as quickly as possible,” said Blumenthal. “Iron Dome has widespread bipartisan support in Congress as well it should,” he said, noting that during Operation Guardian of the Walls in May, the system...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. Senate blocked the National Defense Authorization Act on Monday amid objections from Republicans and some liberal Democrats, although lawmakers will keep working on the massive annual defense policy bill, which has become law for 60 straight years. The vote was 45-51, meaning the measure could not get the 60 "yes" votes needed to advance toward passage in the 100-member Senate. The NDAA, which normally passes with strong bipartisan support, is closely watched by a broad swath of industry and other interests as it determines everything from how many ships are bought to pay increases for soldiers...

The United States is setting up its own version of the 'Iron Dome' on the Pacific Ocean island of Guam as it begins testing the missile-defense system on the heels of China flexing its military might. Soldiers from Fort Bliss, Texas flew to the US territory weeks ago to help set up the Iron Dome, according to a spokesman for the 94th Army Air and Missile Defense Command. The system arrived on Guam last week. ....

Few areas of public policy lend themselves less easily to big-picture doctrinal sorting and various "-ism" labeling than does foreign policy. That is perhaps now truer than ever, as America's two major political parties continue their already ascendant realignment, with Democrats abandoning their working-class roots in favor of a professional-managerial ruling class and Republicans ditching the libertarian-inspired corporatism of yesteryear in favor of a "deplorable"-inspired populism. Foreign policy is an inherently nuanced subject, and speaking in broad strokes about it during a once-in-a-generation political realignment can risk analytical error. Those caveats aside, we should still feel comfortable making what may,...

Israeli lawmakers flanked by former president Donald Trump's daughter and son-in-law launched an initiative in Jerusalem on Monday to advance the Abraham Accords that saw Arab states normalise ties with Israel. Jared Kushner, a former White House adviser married to Ivanka Trump, was a major architect of the deals between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Sudan and Morocco. At the launch of the Abraham Accords Caucus in Israel's parliament, the Knesset, Kushner said the agreements created a "new paradigm" in the region, which could have "very different outcomes" depending on the actions of current leaders. Critics of the...