Israel’s Iron Dome and Indian AKASH SAM: Rising importance of missile defence systems

In an agonising escalation of the current conflict situation in the Middle East, Iran did what they have been threatening for a while. On Saturday, Iran directly attacked Israel by launching more than 300 drones and ballistic missiles, which were intercepted by Israel’s multi-layered air defence system, which has already been under considerable duress, consistently working overtime to combat incoming rockets, drones, and missiles for the past six months in Israel’s ongoing conflict with Hamas.

Sirens wailed in Israel as people heard roaring thuds and bangs from what the local media described as aerial interceptions of explosive drones. Authorities say a seven-year-old girl was injured, and light damage was caused to an Israeli military facility.

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Israel’s ingenious air defence system, developed with assistance from the US and Britain, was credited with preventing any devastating damage or casualties.

Israel’s complicated and manifold air defence system consists of The Arrow, David’s Sling, Patriot, Iron Beam, and the hero of the night, THE IRON DOME.

The Iron Dome was initially developed by Israel independently after the 2006 Lebanon War. It was further enhanced later thanks to the US, which provided Israel with its defence expertise and billions of dollars in bipartisan financial support for the programme.

The dome, which started operating in 2011, is known as Kippat Barzel in Hebrew and reacts within a matter of seconds. It is manned round the clock every day and is designed to intercept short-range rockets up to a distance of 70 km. Israel’s state-owned Rafael Advanced Defence Systems, which helped design this crucial anti-missile shield, says it has an interception rate of 90 per cent.

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The Iron Dome battery is made up of three sections:

• A radar detection system.

• A computer to calculate the incoming rocket’s trajectory.

• A launcher that fires interceptors if the rocket seems likely to hit any constructed area or any strategic facility.

In Israel, the system consists of a series of truck-towed mobile units that are placed at strategic and deliberate points throughout the country. If their radars detect a threat, the data is immediately transmitted to a “battle management center", where defence personnel analyse it and mobilise a missile launcher to neutralise the incoming threat.

The Iron Dome has consistently been nullifying more than 90 per cent of rockets fired towards Israel, and it has also developed a naval version to protect ships and other assets since 2017. It is considered a major reason behind the relatively low death count of Israelis during their current war with Hamas, while the death toll in Gaza keeps increasing.

Each dome interceptor costs around 50,000 USD to manufacture, according to the Washington-based Centre for Strategic and International Studies. It is estimated that the entire system, consisting of the radar, computer, and three to four launchers (each containing around 20 interceptors), costs around 100 million USD each. Israel is thought to have about ten such systems in place currently, though the number may be higher.

It is now the envy of many militaries around the world, with the US having purchased two Iron Dome batteries, while Ukraine has also requested the same.

While 99 per cent of the rockets fired by Iran on April 13 were said to have been intercepted by the Dome, according to Israel Defence Forces data, the Dome’s capabilities are not infinite. It does have a saturation point, beyond which it is possible to overwhelm it, but currently it is unknown what exactly the point is. It has served its country tremendously well during the past few years of heavy military combat and has performed in an exemplary manner under constant onslaught.

Israeli military spokesman Lt Col Jonathan Conricus showered high praise on it, saying, “The number of Israelis killed or wounded would be far higher had it not been for the Iron Dome system, which has been a lifesaver as it always is.”

India also has its own equivalent of the Iron Dome, our own homegrown surface-to-air missile (SAM), the AKASH SAM, developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and produced by Bharat Dynamics Ltd (BDL). Private sector companies such as Larsen& Toubro and Tata Advanced Systems were on board as technology partners. It is almost entirely indigenously manufactured, with 96 per cent of its components being domestically produced.

In fact, it is the first system capable of engaging four aerial targets simultaneously at 25 km range by command guidance using a single firing unit.

It is garnering a lot of attention from various countries and their militaries, with India embarking on a new era in its defence export sector by preparing to deliver its indigenously developed AKASH SAM to Armenia, the first nation to purchase it from us, resulting in a historic Rs 6,000 crore deal.

Multiple South American, African, and West Asian countries, including Brazil, the Philippines, and Egypt, are now showing interest in the acquisition of the same.

It is currently in service with both the Indian Army and the Indian Air Force and has built-in electronic counter counter measures (ECCM) features, which can help the missile force itself through enemy jamming and other modes of evasion. Its open-system building design ensures its adaptability to existing and future air defence conditions.

It is a highly cost-effective weapon platform, as India can produce it at a much lower cost than other countries trying to build the same kind of surface-to-air missile system, making it a major attraction for smaller countries, particularly those who want to acquire a short-range air defence system.

In today’s uncertain political climate, be it in the Middle East, southwest Asia, or eastern Asia, with rockets raining with frightening regularity, missile defence systems have become one of the most important tools in any country’s military and defence arsenal. Let’s applaud their continuous upgradations and progress and their role in saving lives, while also hoping that someday in the future we stop needing them at all.

The author is a freelance journalist and features writer based out of Delhi. Her main areas of focus are politics, social issues, climate change and lifestyle-related topics. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect Firstpost’s views.