World News - iron-dome

Nov

2012

12:09pm, EST

Israel's Iron Dome shield against Gaza rockets cost up to $30 million

By Reuters

Darren Whiteside / Reuters

An ultra-Orthodox Jewish man watches as a truck transports Iron Dome anti-missiles batteries in the southern city of Ashdod, November 17.

JERUSALEM - Israel's Iron Dome interceptions of rockets fired from Gaza during eight days of Gaza fighting cost $25 million to $30 million, the government said on Thursday, arguing the U.S.-backed system was well worth the money.

"Were Iron Dome traded on the (Tel Aviv) stock exchange or Nasdaq, it would have multiplied its share value several times over," Civil Defense Minister Avi Dichter told Israel Radio in an interview where he outlined the system's outlay.

Using radar-guided interceptor missiles, Israel's five truck-towed Iron Dome batteries shot down 421 of some 1,500 rockets launched from the Gaza Strip between November 14 and Wednesday's Egyptian-brokered truce, the military said.

How Israel's 'Iron Dome' intercepts incoming rockets

It put Iron Dome's success rate at 90 percent. To lower costs, the system engages only rockets that threaten populated areas, though it often fires two interceptor missiles at once.

The anti-missile system made in Israel and helped by American money, recognizes which rockets will hit an inhabited area and knocks them out while ignoring the others. NBC's Martin Fletcher reports.

Rockets killed 5 people in Israel and wounded dozens during the conflict, police said. Three died in coastal Ashdod on a day when Rafael Advanced Defense Systems Ltd, Iron Dome's state-owned manufacturer, said the system had suffered a malfunction.

Israel says it needs 13 batteries for satisfactory nationwide Defense. A Defense industry source put the unit cost for Israel at around $50 million.

The focus of Israel's aerial assault on Gaza were the stockpiles and launch silos of rockets imported or improvised by Hamas and other factions. Gaza medical officials said 162 Palestinians were killed, more than half of them civilians.

The most potent of those rockets were Iranian-designed Fajr-5s with 75 km (46 mile) ranges and 175 kg (385 lb) warheads, though Hamas also said it used a Gaza-made variant, "Qassam M-75".

Shops and stores are reopening and a semblance of normalcy is returning to Gaza's streets after a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas is put into effect. NBC's Ayman Mohyeldin reports from Gaza.

Iran denies supplying arms to the Palestinians. But the Iranian Young Journalists Club website on Wednesday quoted the commander of the Islamic republic's Revolutionary Guards, Mohammad Ali Jafari, saying the corps had "put the technology of Fajr-5 missiles at their (Gazans') disposal and right now a good number of these have been made and are available to them".

More world stories from NBC News:

Follow World News from NBCNews.com on Twitter and Facebook

May

2012

9:14am, EDT

Leon Panetta seeks another $70M for Israel's 'Iron Dome' rocket shield

By msnbc.com staff and news services

WASHINGTON -- The Pentagon will seek to provide Israel with an additional $70 million in the coming months for its short-range rocket shield, known as the "Iron Dome," Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said after a meeting with his Israeli counterpart on Thursday.

So far, the United States has provided $205 million to support the Iron Dome, manufactured by Israel's state-owned Raphael Advanced Defense Systems Ltd. The system uses small radar-guided missiles to blow up in midair Katyusha-style rockets with ranges of 3 miles to 45 miles, as well as mortar bombs.

But top Republicans have criticized President Barack Obama for what they described as inadequate funding of U.S.-Israeli missile defense cooperation in his 2013 budget request released in February amid deficit-reduction requirements.

Legislation moving through the Republican-controlled U.S. House of Representatives would give Israel additional $680 million for the Iron Dome system through 2015, and some House lawmakers are seeking a deal with Israel to share production of the Iron Dome system with U.S. weapons manufacturers.

Follow @msnbc_world

Obama's fiscal 2013 budget request calls for $3.1 billion in security assistance to Israel, part of a 10-year, $30 billion U.S. commitment, none of which was scheduled to fund Iron Dome.

A message to Assad? 19 countries stage war games in Jordan

On Thursday, Panetta said the Pentagon would seek additional funding for the Iron Dome program over the next three years "based on an annual assessment of Israeli security requirements."

"My goal is to ensure Israel has the funding it needs each year to produce these batteries that can protect its citizens," Panetta said.

'US Navy lit up the sky': Interceptor for Europe anti-missile shield tested

He said the $70 million would be provided this fiscal year, which ends in September.

"This is assistance that, provided Congress concurs, we can move quickly, to ensure no shortage in this important system," Panetta said in a statement after meeting Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak at the Pentagon.

'Unbreakable bonds'
The Jerusalem Post quoted Barak as saying that Israeli-U.S. defense ties had never been as strong as they were today under the Obama administration.

"The U.S. decision to support further enhancing Israel's security is an important demonstration of the unbreakable bonds between the United States and Israel," Barak added.

The pro-Israel lobby group AIPAC welcomed Panetta's decision, saying it would help Israel better protect its citizens against some 60,000 missiles and rockets amassed at its borders by Hamas and Hezbollah Islamist militants.

As of April, Israel had deployed three operating units of the system, which helped thwart Palestinian rocket salvos during a flare-up in fighting around the Gaza Strip in March. It has spoken of needing a total of 13 or 14 units to protect various fronts.

The system intercepted more than 80 percent of the targets it engaged in March when nearly 300 rockets and mortars were fired at southern Israel, saving many lives, a U.S. Defense Department spokesman said on March 27.

Reuters and msnbc.com staff contributed to this report.

More world news from msnbc.com and NBC News:

Follow us on Twitter: @msnbc_world