The engineers of the acclaimed Iron Dome missile defense system said Monday that they believe that with time the system will “be expanded and the percentage of [rocket] interceptions will only go up."
The engineers at mPrest Systems Ltd., based in Petah Tikva, developed the renowned command and control system of Iron Dome, which is designed to identify, intercept and destroy short-range rockets and artillery shells fired from distances of 4 to 70 kilometers away.
Within one second, on average, it offers hundreds of interception solutions and picks the best one, with preference for a high altitude interception, ideally over open ground.
The system was developed on the basis of the successful close collaboration between mPrest's staff and Iron Dome's chief contractor, Rafael Advanced Defense Systems Ltd., which acquired 50% of the company in 2010.
"We knew with certainty that we would succeed with this project, otherwise we wouldn’t have begun it," mPrest CEO Natan Barak told Globes. "All along, I saw our step-by-step progress in the project. It was a miracle at some level. At first, the Americans told us that it wouldn’t work, and yet, it works. I am a believer. I personally believe that this is a supreme achievement."
"It provides an excellent response in detecting fairly small items that are hard to see, and verifying that they are a rocket and not something else," said Barak.
"With a little effort, in less than a year, we were able to adapt the capabilities for the Iron Dome system," he added.
Iron Dome has already successfully intercepted hundreds of rockets launched at Israel since the beginning of Operation Pillar of Defense began seven days ago.
Ironically, Barak added that the terrorists should also be pleased with the system’s success.
"Gaza too should be pleased with the success of Iron Dome,” Barak told Globes. “Without it, the IDF would now be in the midst of a major ground operation and there would be many more Palestinian dead.”
“We have not yet fully used the Iron Dome's capabilities, and these capabilities will be expanded and the percentage of interceptions will only go up," he concluded.
