By Manny Mogato
Doubts were raised about whether Israel’s much-talked-about Iron Dome air defense system worked this time against Iran’s massive missile and drone attacks.
More than 20 people died and hundreds were injured in Israel in Iran’s air strikes, which also hit Tel Aviv’s Kirya area where the defense and military headquarters are located. Other Israeli cities came under attack, destroying vital infrastructures, including residential areas.
About a dozen Filipinos were injured in the attacks, which came a day after Israel surprised Iran with drones and air strikes on its nuclear weapons facilities and military headquarters. It eliminated the senior Armed Forces leadership.
Jerusalem defended its actions after there were intelligence reports that Tehran was building military-grade nuclear weapons.
An international watchdog has complained that Iran had stopped cooperating with the agency to check its nuclear development.
Israel’s daring air strikes were compared to Ukraine’s drone attack on air bases deep into Russia’s territory, destroying $7 billion of strategic bombers.
Israel sent drones from within Iran to knock down air defense radars and air defense missiles, allowing its F-35 fighters to carry out wave after wave of air strikes in Tehran and other Iranian cities.
Iran responded the next day with a barrage of hypersonic missiles, which struck several targets, putting into doubt the effectiveness of Jerusalem’s air defense systems.
Israel has a multi-layered and multi-tiered air defense system, contrary to popular belief in the Philippines that it was only relying on Iron Dome.
The Iron Dome became popular when Iran-backed Hamas in the Gaza Strip and Hezbollah in Lebanon, as well as the Houthi movement in Yemen, attacked Israel in 2024. During those times, Iron Dome did not intercept 100 percent of the rocket-and-missile attacks. However, it caused minimal damage.
This time, Israel failed to stop air strikes hitting its defense and military headquarters in Tel Aviv and other key installations in other parts of Israel.
Israel’s multi-layered air defense systems
Operational since 2011, the Iron Dome is a mobile, all-weather air defense system designed to intercept and destroy short-range rockets and artillery fired from about 70 kilometers away, protecting heavily populated Israeli settlements.
Israel’s Iron Dome intercepted thousands of rockets fired by Hamas and Hezbollah during the continuing conflict.
It planned a sea-based Iron Dome system to protect its oil platforms in the Mediterranean Sea.
Thus, it was not designed to intercept and destroy missiles fired hundreds of kilometers from Iran. It also has limited success in destroying low-flying drones.
Israel has two more air defense systems — David’s Sling and the Arrow system.
Operational in 2017, the David’s Sling was designed to intercept and destroy aircraft, drones, tactical ballistic missiles, and medium-to-long range rockets and cruise missiles.
David’s Sling can stop medium-range missiles launched 300 kilometers away, and was designed to replace the US’s MIM-104 Patriot.
Mobile surface-to-air missiles were developed in the 1980s, and the medium-range MIM-23 Hawk, which was used from the 1970s.
David’s Sling is Israel’s second-tier air defense system, which is capable of intercepting the new generation of Russian and Chinese low-altitude tactical ballistic missiles.
For long-range missiles, Israel has the Arrow air defense systems — the supersonic Arrow 2 and Arrow 3.
Arrow 2 is designed to replace the Patriot, while Arrow 3 is the next-generation upper-tier portion of Israel’s missile defense. Operational since 2017, Arrow 3 operates at greater speeds, greater range, and at greater altitudes than Arrow 2, intercepting ballistic missiles during the space-flight portion of their trajectory.
Arrow 3 could also serve as an anti-satellite weapon, making Israel one of the world’s few countries capable of shooting down satellites.
This year, Israel will introduce its newest air defense system to target drones, short-range rockets, artillery, and mortar bombs from a range of 10 kilometers.
As a stand-alone air defense system, it uses a laser beam to destroy airborne targets tracked by a vehicle platform.
It could also work with Iron Dome and other air defense systems and is the fifth element of Israel’s multi-tiered air defense system.
However, even if Israel has sophisticated air defense systems, Iran was able to hit targets, raising doubts about its effectiveness in the face of swarming missile attacks.
Washington has rushed resources to the Middle East to help protect Israel and negotiate with Iran to stop its nuclear weapons program, which would make Israel halt its attack.
It has deployed its 1990s-era Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD), an anti-ballistic missile defense system, as well as two Arleigh Burke destroyers equipped with the advanced Aegis combat system to intercept aircraft and missiles.
The Israelis still used Patriot missiles together with their multi-layered air defense systems.
Lessons from the conflict
The Philippines can learn a lot from Israel in stopping drones and tactical missiles. Israel may have prevented 90 percent of Iran’s air strikes, a good batting average given the minimal infrastructure damage and loss of lives.
Perhaps the Philippines can invest more in anti-drone warfare, exploring cooperation with Israel to acquire Iron Beam, a cheaper option than missile interceptors, because it only uses power up to 100 kilowatts.
The Philippines is no stranger to the Israeli air defense system. When it bought Israeli radars, it also acquired the surface-to-air Spyder missile system to protect radar sites in Luzon and Palawan.
The Philippines could not afford Israel’s David’s Sling and Arrow systems but it could probably afford the newest Iron Beam system.
The views expressed by the columnist do not necessarily reflect that of the media organization.
