By now, you\u2019ve probably seen the videos: dark skies, illuminated by exploding balls of light, like alien spaceships doing battle or a terrifying fireworks display, scored by air raid sirens.<\/p>\n
This is the view of Israel\u2019s Iron Dome, the aerial defense system the country uses to intercept incoming short-range rockets. The intensifying conflict this week between Israel and Hamas, the Palestinian militia in control of Gaza, has offered a renewed glimpse of the Iron Dome in action. <\/p>\n
The system has been in place for about a decade, developed with heavy financial and technical backing from the United States. It is, according to Israeli officials, about 90 percent effective at blocking the short-range rockets commonly used by Hamas and other groups in the region. <\/p>\n
The Iron Dome gives Israel what Jean-Loup Samaan, a research affiliate with the Middle East Institute at the National University of Singapore who has studied Israel\u2019s missile defense, called an \u201cinsurance policy\u201d \u2014 it reassures citizens and protects against loss of life and property damage. <\/p>\n
But Israel\u2019s ability to defend against these rocket attacks hasn\u2019t altered how it responds to them, with airstrikes and artillery fire on Gaza or anywhere else rockets may be coming from. Palestinian civilians frequently bear the brunt of these strikes. <\/p>\n
On the other side, faced with a defense like the Iron Dome, groups like Hamas try to overwhelm the system, launching dozens if not hundreds of rockets, knowing most will be intercepted and never hit their intended targets but hoping that if they send enough, at least a few will. As of Friday, according to Israeli officials, militants in Gaza fired 2,200 rockets, with the Iron Dome intercepting 85 to 90 percent of rockets that threaten people or infrastructure.<\/p>\n
All of this raises questions about how the Iron Dome has \u2014 and hasn\u2019t \u2014 changed the nature of the conflict. I spoke with Samaan to find out more about how both Israel and militant groups like Hamas see the defense system; why, despite having such robust protection from rockets, Israel still responds to them with overwhelming force; and whether having the system makes peace more or less likely.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Our conversation, which has been edited and condensed, is below.<\/p>\n
Jen Kirby<\/p>\n
What is the Iron Dome?<\/p>\n
Jean-Loup Samaan<\/p>\n
Iron Dome is an air defense system, meaning that its objective is to intercept incoming rockets on Israeli territory. The project started in 2007 and became active around 2011. <\/p>\n
Basically, it has three components, which is the case for most air defense systems: radar that detects the incoming rocket; a command-and-control system that processes that information and then activates the third component, which is the interceptor \u2014 basically a missile whose role is to destroy the other rocket. <\/p>\n
Jen Kirby<\/p>\n
So the interceptor essentially blows up the rocket in midair?<\/p>\n
Jean-Loup Samaan<\/p>\n
Yes. <\/p>\n
Jen Kirby<\/p>\n
Is this system unique to Israel?<\/p>\n
Jean-Loup Samaan<\/p>\n
In a way; it\u2019s unique because it\u2019s the most advanced system for these types of threats. Meaning that \u2014 without getting into the details, and I\u2019m a political scientist, I\u2019m not an engineer \u2014 but you cannot defend against a rocket the same way you defend against a ballistic missile because of the trajectory, because of the range. <\/p>\n
So Iron Dome, and its specific domain, which is destroying rockets, is quite unique. It\u2019s unique because it was among the first systems to be designed and, so far, from what we know, the most effective one. You could argue that the Patriot System that the United States operates is a bit similar \u2014 but it does not cover low-range rockets. <\/p>\n
Jen Kirby<\/p>\n
So the Iron Dome was designed for this very specific threat of low-range rockets coming from Gaza or other places nearby?<\/p>\n
Jean-Loup Samaan<\/p>\n
Yes, and that\u2019s the important part, because sometimes people think Iron Dome can detect and intercept anything, but it was designed for unsophisticated weapons like rockets. It cannot intercept ballistic missiles coming from Iran, for instance \u2014 that would be something that the other systems the Israelis are developing like David\u2019s Sling or Arrow would have to intercept. <\/p>\n
Even some of the weapons systems that Hezbollah [an Iran-backed Shia militia] in Lebanon is operating, like mid-range ballistic missiles, precision-guided weapons, these types of more sophisticated systems would be much more challenging to intercept.<\/p>\n
Jen Kirby<\/p>\n
So the Iron Dome is a very sophisticated system designed for relatively unsophisticated technology?<\/p>\n
Jean-Loup Samaan<\/p>\n
That\u2019s the reason why if you check over the last decade, every time there\u2019s an operation with Gaza, you have, first, the people who are fascinated with Iron Dome, and then you have the others in Israel who say, \u201cThis is a very expensive system designed to intercept very cheap rockets.\u201d So, for sure, it\u2019s impressive in terms of the technology it operates and the command of that technology, but it cannot, by itself, protect the country against all the surrounding threats.<\/p>\n
Jen Kirby<\/p>\n
Has the use of the Iron Dome influenced or changed how Israel thinks about defense?<\/p>\n
Jean-Loup Samaan<\/p>\n
Yes and no. There have been, obviously, some budgetary implications, because the money you invest on Iron Dome you cannot invest on other things. That\u2019s also the reason why the Israelis have made that topic \u2014 Iron Dome and air defense more broadly \u2014 into a major component of Israel-US cooperation. It would be very difficult for the Israelis to sustain the costs involved with these systems on their own. <\/p>\n
But if you look at Israeli operations over the last decade in Gaza, Iron Dome didn\u2019t change the fact that the Israelis had to conduct airstrikes from time to time against Hamas, and conduct operations that also involved ground forces. I would be curious to see in coming days, because there have been talks about ground intervention, if that materializes, like it has in the past. <\/p>\n
That actually tells you that Iron Dome is good to buy time, is good to protect the population \u2014 but it doesn\u2019t really change the nature of the conflict. It doesn\u2019t change the fact that the Israeli military still has to use airstrikes and possibly the threat of ground intervention [against Palestinian militant groups like Hamas].<\/p>\n