"We will reach operational deployment of the Iron Dome system for the interception of Kassam and other short-range rockets within two and a half years," Minister of Defense Ehud Barak said in a briefing to Israeli reporters in Washington yesterday.
Sources within the defense establishment and at Rafael Armament Development Authority Ltd., which is jointly developing Iron Dome together with US defense technology company Raytheon Inc. (NYSE: RTN) , hinted off the record at the beginning of 2007 that the project would take between two and two-and-a-half years to complete, but this is the first time the Minister of Defense has announced a clear timeline for the system's deployment. The Iron Dome system is designed to protect Sderot and other communities in the Western Negev region from Kassam rocket attacks from the Gaza Strip.
Barak admitted that the development of another system, Magic Wand, also known as David's Sling, for the interception of missiles with ranges of 40-250 kilometers (such as the Katushya rockets that hit communities in northern Israel during the Second Lebanon War), would "take longer." Defense industry professionals believe the development will take six years. The defense minister said that these projects were "a national priority" and that "money should not be a problem" in the process of bringing them to fruition. He immediately added that, "Of course, the intention here is not to pad out the defense industries, but move the projects forward."
Sources at Rafael said at the beginning of 2007 that the cost of developing Iron Dome would reach NIS 1 billion. A few months ago, the Ministry of Defense estimated the cost at $100-300 million.
Barak added that Israel and the US had agreed to improve the capabilities of the Arrow anti-ballistic missile, to make it capable of intercepting enemy missiles at a higher altitude than the current generation of the system can reach. The new generation of the Arrow missile, Block 3, will, in effect, be able to intercept missiles from outer space.
Barak said that all these systems had the potential for substantial exports to third countries. He did not address the fact that so far the US has not given its consent for the sale of Arrow missiles to countries such as India, Turkey, and South Korea, which have expressed an interest in them.
Following Barak's meeting at the Pentagon with US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, a Defense Department spokesperson said that the US and Israel had agreed to collaborate on the construction of a multilayered missile system to intercept enemy missiles of various ranges. He said the two sides had agreed to set up a committee which would examine Israel's proposals for improving and expanding existing missile systems to offer a defense "not just against Iranian but also Palestinian missiles."
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes.co.il - on October 18, 2007
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