Patrick Tucker reports that the Iron Dome, developed by Raytheon and Israel’s Rafael, uses tracking and guidance systems to lead interceptor rockets to the incoming missiles and a Laser Fuse beam for positioning targets.
He notes that the system has received skepticism, particularly from MIT national security expert Ted Postol, who wrote in a paper sent to the Bulletin of Atomic Sciences that the Iron Dome has a low engagement and warhead destruction rate due to the varied speeds of Hamas’ Grad missiles.
However, the U.S. government has seen a need for the anti-rocket shield, with the Senate’s defense appropriations subcommittee voting to double the Iron Dome budget to $351.9 million, the report said.
Meanwhile, the Color Red early-warning system application, in partnership with the Yo messaging application, provides at least 10 seconds of warning time before a rocket reaches ground, Tucker writes.