Should Israel's Military Rethink Their Choices on the Iron Dome?

Israel’s Iron Dome has protected the country against missile attacks for years. The Iron Dome in Israel is the biggest of its kind in the world. No other countries in the world use the same air defense system, meaning it is one of a kind.

The tension between Israel and Gaza has been going on for decades, and the death toll has been continuously increasing on both ends. However, tension has been increasing further in the past couple of days as air rockets have been exchanged deeply affecting, and unfortunately claiming the lives of, civilians. Now, there is news that there is a rising number of Israelis who are currently wounded because the Iron Dome failed to intercept 100% of the rockets. Should Israel put in place a better protection system over the Iron Dome?

Understanding the Iron Dome

Israel has put in place a massive military protection system, known as the ‘Iron Dome’. It is an air defense system that protects its borders against any potential missile attacks. It was first put into service back in 2011 and is meant to protect Israel from any rockets fired from Gaza. This kind of system has a radar unit and a control center which could detect projectiles of rockets. Using this, the trajectory and targets are calculated. Each unit has about three or four rocket launchers each supplied with 20 interceptor missiles.

Currently, videos of the Iron Dome missile defense system in the works are trending online. People found the system amazing, and equally terrifying. Time and again, it has proven highly effective and successful as it has intercepted a vast majority of short-range rockets. The problem is, this might have been the first time that the Iron Dome is tested to such severity and extent.

Israel’s Iron Dome can cause damage

With the Iron Dome, people have about 50 to 90 seconds to flee to safety. This is a considerably short amount of time for people to run, but enough time to intercept a missile. These interceptor missiles may be maneuvered in the air but are not designed to strike a target. Instead, it will explode near enough to destroy incoming rockets. The problem with this is that the debris could not be controlled. Thus, it can cause considerable damage to wherever it might fall.

Was the Iron Dome protection a failure?

It is really a ‘damned if you do, damned if you don’t’ situation. There may have been a handful of injuries because the Iron Dome failed to intercept 100% of the missiles. However, having the Iron Dome protect Israel from short-range rockets is much better than having none. Time and again, Israel’s Iron Dome has protected the citizens. But, it might be a good time to rethink the possible effects of the debris.