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2020-10-14

Raytheon & RAFAEL Team Up For Iron Dome Production Facility

Raytheon Missiles & Defense, a Raytheon Technologies business, and RAFAEL Advanced Defense Systems Ltd., an Israeli-based defence technology company, recently signed a joint venture to establish an Iron Dome Weapon System production facility in the U.S. The new partnership, called Raytheon RAFAEL Area Protection Systems, will reportedly finalise a site location before the end of the year.

Raytheon Missiles & Defense and RAFAEL have teamed for over a decade on Iron Dome, one of the world’s most-used systems with more than 2,500 operational intercepts and a success rate exceeding 90 per cent.

The new facility, the first outside of Israel, will produce both the Iron Dome Weapon System, which consists of the Tamir interceptor and launcher, and the SkyHunter missile, a U.S. derivative of Tamir.

In 2019, the U.S. Army announced its intent to buy two Iron Dome batteries to fill a need for an interim capability. Given interest by the U.S. and several other nations in Iron Dome’s unique capabilities, Raytheon Missiles & Defense debuted the SkyHunter system in cooperation with RAFAEL. Based on Iron Dome, SkyHunter can be produced in the U.S. to expand availability and capacity for the country and its allies.

Protective Shield

Ten Iron Dome batteries protect the citizens and infrastructure of Israel, with each battery comprising three to four stationary launchers, 20 Tamir missiles and a battlefield radar. Each of the batteries can defend up to nearly 60 square-miles and are strategically placed around cities to intercept threats headed toward populated areas. The intelligent Iron Dome system ignores incoming threats it determines will land in uninhabited areas, thereby minimising unnecessary defensive launches and lowering operation costs.

Iron Dome detects, assesses, and intercepts a variety of shorter-range targets such as rockets, artillery, and mortars. It is effective day or night and in all weather conditions, including low clouds, rain, dust storms and fog. It features a first-of-its-kind multi-mission launcher designed to fire a variety of interceptor missiles.

Both Tamir and SkyHunter intercept incoming cruise missiles, unmanned aerial systems (UAS) and short-range targets such as rockets, artillery, mortars, and other aerial threats.

Moreover, Tamir missile knocks down incoming threats launched from ranges of 4-70 km. The missiles feature electro-optical sensors and steering fins with proximity fuze blast warheads. The majority of Tamir missile components are procured through the Raytheon Missiles & Defense supply chain in the U.S.

Raytheon Missiles & Defense has also teamed with RAFAEL on the David’s Sling System, which defends at higher layers.

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