Israel's defense establishment is waiting tensely for Congress to approve defense appropriations on Tuesday, which include an additional $205 million for the Iron Dome anti-missile program, built by Rafael Advanced Defense Systems Ltd. President Barack Obama promised the funding several months ago, but it has not yet been transferred.
The US funding will pay for four more Iron Dome batteries, in addition to the two batteries now deployed to protect Beersheva and Ashkelon against Grad and other rockets fired from the Gaza Strip. Defense sources say that 18-24 months will be needed to deploy the additional batteries from the date that the Ministry of Defense orders them. They added that the orders might be placed before the US funding arrives.
Meanwhile, the defense establishment is considering allocating a budget for more Iron Dome batteries as part of the next multiyear budget plan. A special subcommittee of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee chaired by MK Amir Perez (Labor) is examining assessments that 25 Iron Dome batteries are needed to provide reasonable nationwide protection against the threat of short and medium-range rockets.
The success of the Iron Dome system in intercepting Grad rockets fired from Gaza toward Ashkelon, Beersheva, and Kiryat Gat over the weekend has added urgency to the call to deploy more batteries. The battery deployed at Ashkelon last Monday made the Iron Dome's first interception on Thursday afternoon, after spotting a Grad rocket en route to the city. Nine rockets were intercepted altogether.
"The atmosphere here is wonderful," a Rafael executive told "Globes". "So far, the system's success in the field is total, and it has proven itself beyond all expectations."
The sense of satisfaction and relief at Rafael is palpable after weeks of worry and keeping expectations low about the Iron Dome's operational performance. In the two weeks after the first battery was deployed at Beersheva, Rafael cautioned that the system could not provide hermetic protection.
Earlier, there were harsh criticisms from people who doubted Iron Dome's ability to intercept rockets. The critics said that the system was pretentious and profligate, and they advised the Ministry of Defense to look at other means, such as high-energy lasers, to intercept incoming missiles.
The Rafael executive said, "There was a lot of poison in these remarks. We were attacked from every side, but our people continued to do what they know how to do, with faith and a lot of hard work." He added, "It now works in the field, against a real threat, and everyone sees it. Everyone is celebrating and is happy. After the doubts have begun to dissipate, the time has come for someone to realize that we've reached money time."
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on April 10, 2011
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