Because of its unique national security challenges, Israel has a long history of developing efficient, state-of-the-art defense technologies and capabilities.A prime example of Israel’s military strength is Iron Dome air defense systemwidely known as the world’s Best defense against missiles and rockets.
However, on October 7, 2023, Israel was caught off guard and was attacked by a large-scale missile attack by Hamas, a Palestinian militant organization headquartered in Gaza.The group fired thousands of missiles Attacks were reported on multiple targets across Israel. Although there are no precise details, it is clear that a large number of Hamas missiles penetrated Israel’s defenses and caused widespread damage and casualties.
I am a aeronautical engineer Someone who studies space and defense systems. Israel’s defense strategy has not been entirely effective against Hamas attacks, and the reason for this is simple. To understand why, you first need to understand the basics of air defense systems.
Air defense: detection, decision, deactivation
The air defense system consists of three key components. First, there is radar to detect, identify and track incoming missiles. The ranges of these radars vary.Iron Dome’s radar is Effective range is 2.5 to 43.5 miles (4 to 70 kilometers)According to its manufacturer, Raytheon Company. Once an object is detected by radar, it must be evaluated to determine whether it poses a threat. Information such as direction and speed are used to make this determination.
If an object is confirmed to be a threat, Iron Dome operators will continue to track the object via radar. Missile speeds vary widely, but assuming a typical speed of 3,280 feet per second (1 km/s), defense systems have up to a minute to respond to an attack.
The second main component of the air defense system is the combat control center. This component determines the appropriate response to a confirmed threat. It uses constantly updated radar information to determine where to launch interceptor missiles from and how many interceptor missiles to best respond to incoming missiles.
The third major component is the interceptor missile itself. In Iron Dome’s case, it’s a supersonic missile with a heat-seeking sensor. These sensors provide in-flight updates to the interceptor, allowing it to steer toward and close to threats. The interceptor uses a proximity fuse activated by a small radar to explode near the incoming missile, eliminating the need to directly hit the missile to disable it.
Limitations of Missile Defense
Israel at least has 10 Iron Dome batteries in operation, each containing 60 to 80 interceptor missiles. Each missile costs approximately $60,000. In previous attacks involving small numbers of missiles and rockets, Iron Dome was 90 percent effective against a range of threats.
So why did the system fail so well in response to the recent Hamas attacks?
It’s a simple matter of numbers. Hamas fired thousands of missiles, while Israel had fewer than a thousand interceptors on the scene ready to counterattack. Even if Iron Dome was 100% effective against incoming threats, the sheer number of Hamas missiles means some missiles will not get through.
The Hamas attack made it abundantly clear that even the best air defense systems will be overwhelmed if they are unable to cope with the number of threats they have to deal with.
Israel’s missile defense system has been under construction for many years and has a high level of financial investment. How can Hamas overwhelm it? Again, it all comes down to numbers. The missiles launched by Hamas cost about $600 each, making them about 100 times cheaper than the Iron Dome interceptor. The total cost of all interceptors launched by Israel is approximately $48 million. If Hamas launches 5,000 missiles, the cost will be only $3 million.
Thus, in a carefully planned and executed strategy, Hamas over time accumulated an arsenal of relatively cheap missiles that it knew would overwhelm Iron Dome’s defenses. Unfortunately for Israel, the Hamas attack represents a very clear example of military asymmetry: a low-cost, less capable approach is able to defeat a more expensive, high-tech system.
future air defense system
A Hamas attack would have repercussions for all the world’s major military powers. It clearly illustrates that air defense systems need to be more effective in two important ways. First, a deeper defense arsenal is needed to deal with the massive missile threat. Second, the cost of each defensive weapon needs to be significantly reduced.
This event may accelerate directed energy air defense system Based on high-energy laser and high-power microwave. These devices are sometimes described as having “unlimited magazine,” because they cost relatively little per shot and can continue firing as long as there is a power supply.
Ian Boyd is director of the National Security Initiative Center and professor of aerospace engineering sciences. University of Colorado Boulder.
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