 "Arrow defence system: Israel’s weapon against Iran’s rain of drones and missiles")
Late Saturday (13 April) night, air raid sirens blared out across Israel as explosions and missiles lit up the night. Iran carried out an unprecedented attack against Israel — launching over 200 drones and missiles targeting commercial capital Tel Aviv, the disputed city of Jerusalem, and Dimona, the desert city home to Israel’s nuclear plant.
Confirming the same, military spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said to the media: “Iran launched UAVs from its territory towards the territory of the state of Israel. We are working in close cooperation with the United States and our partners in the region in order to act against the launches and intercept them.”
Following the airstrike, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards confirmed the drone and missile attack was launched against Israel in retaliation for the Damascus strike which killed seven Guards, two of them generals. The Guards said ballistic missiles were fired almost an hour after the slower moving drones.
For live updates on Iran’s attack on Israel, read here
But the rain of drones and missiles haven’t caused much damage, with the Israelis claiming that they were able to intercept 99 per cent of them. Rear Admiral Hagari in a televised statement said: “The Iranian attack was foiled.”
None of the drones and cruise missiles that were launched towards Israel had entered its territory, Hagari said, and “only a few” ballistic missiles reached Israel. One of them “lightly hit the Nevatim base,” he added, noting that the military compound was “still functioning”.
Defence Minister Yoav Gallant also issued a statement, saying: “Together with the United States and additional partners, we managed to defend the territory of the State of Israel.”
Impact Shorts
More ShortsSeveral videos have emerged showing Israel’s Arrow defence system, along with the Iron Dome system, intercepting aerial threats. But what is this system? How does it counter aerial attacks?
We give you the answers.
Arrow aerial defence system, explained
The system has been developed by Israel’s Aerospace Industries (IAI) in collaboration with the US Missile Defence Agency. The Arrow aerial defence system is a surface-to-surface missile system forming an upper tier in Israel’s multi-layered air defence system. It operates outside the atmosphere and fights off all long-range missiles.
Work on the Arrow aerial defence system began back in the 1980s. In the ’90s, the Arrow 1 system went through a battery of tests and was inducted into the Israeli forces. Later, in 2000, a lighter version, known as Arrow 2, was inducted into the Israeli military. With this induction, Israel was equipped to counter short and medium-range missiles with its hit-and-kill approach in the upper atmosphere. Arrow’s objective is to neutralise the missile before it makes its descent at the target.
In 2017, Israel developed the Arrow 3 system, which can destroy long-range targets in the atmosphere. It provides hypersonic capabilities and can defend a very large area, providing comprehensive defence of strategic sites and large populated areas. It can destroy long-range threats, including those carrying weapons of mass destruction, far away from the targets.
Additionally, Arrow 3 provides high lethality against all types of theatre ballistic missiles (TBMs) and warheads. It can be integrated with the AWS battery comprising a ground-based radar, and a battle management system, launchers, and a launch control centre.
This isn’t the first time that the Arrow missile defence system has been used by Israel. In November 2023, it successfully intercepted a ballistic missile fired by Iran’s proxies in Yemen. At the time, Boaz Levy, CEO and president of IAI, had said, “The Arrow system demonstrated today that Israel possesses the most advanced technology for defense against ballistic missiles at various ranges.”
It was also used back in 2017 to shoot down a Syrian surface-to-air missile that had strayed into Israeli airspace after missing Israeli aircraft.
According to an NDTV report, the US has funded roughly half of the annual development costs of the Arrow 2 system. By 2020, the total US financial contribution toward the Arrow Weapon System exceeded $3.7 billion (Rs 31,000 crore).
Comparing Arrow to Iron Dome
The Iron Dome is perhaps the most known anti-missile defence system across the world. Developed by Israel, the country has heavily relied upon it to protect military and civilian sites from frequent barrages of rockets.
But then how does the Arrow missile defence system compare to it? The Iron Dome works against smaller threats, whereas Arrow intercepts larger attacks. Uzi Rubin, an Israeli engineer who oversaw the development of the Arrow system, told The Jerusalem Post that the AWS was developed to defend against more difficult targets than the Iron Dome can.
However, Rubin also warned that Israel’s enemies could look to overwhelm the Arrow system, similar to how Hamas has overwhelmed the Iron Dome capabilities during the 7 October 2023 attack.
Israel’s multi-layered defence system
The Arrow is one part of Israel’s multi-layered defence system along with the Iron Dome. Israel also has in its arsenal the David’s Sling, the Patriot and the Iron Beam.
David’s Sling, which has been co-developed with the US, is meant to intercept medium-range missiles, such as those possessed by Hezbollah in Lebanon. Also known as the Magic Wand, it fires an interceptor called the Stunner (which doesn’t have a warhead) to defeat medium- to long-range rockets and missiles at a range of up to 300 km.
As Israel’s foreign ministry stated: “David’s Sling significantly strengthens Israel’s aerial defence strategy and is a central factor in Israel’s multi-tiered defence array, providing additional protection against short and medium range threats, and complementing the capabilities of the Arrow and the Iron Dome systems.”
There’s also the Iron Beam , which Israel is developing. A new system, it’s objective is to intercept incoming threats with laser technology. Israel has said this system will be a game changer because it is much cheaper to operate than existing systems. However, it is not yet operational.
Israel’s air defence also includes the Patriot . An American-made system, it is the oldest member of Israel’s missile-defence system – used during the First Gulf War in 1991 to intercept Scud missiles fired by Iraq’s leader at the time, Saddam Hussein. The Patriot is now used to shoot down aircraft, including drones.
With inputs from agencies
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