Iron Dome works in combat, intercepts Katyusha rocket
Iron Dome works in combat, intercepts Katyusha rocket.
History was made on Thursday when the Iron Dome counter-rocket defense system intercepted a Grad-model Katyusha rocket fired from the Gaza Strip on Thursday, proving its capabilities for the first time in combat.
IDF sources said that the rocket was detected shortly after it was launched in the direction of Ashkelon, south of which a battery was deployed on Monday. Two Tamir interceptors were fired at the Katyusha and the first intercepted it, a senior Israeli Air Force officer said.
“This is a historic achievement and the first time that a short-range rocket was shot down in this way in the world,” one defense official said.
The first Iron Dome battery was deployed outside of Beersheba in late March after Hamas and Islamic Jihad fired over 100 rockets and mortar shells into Israel in under a week. The IAF said that it planned to keep the Iron Dome in its current positions but would move the batteries to other cities within the range of Palestinian rocket fire over the coming weeks.
Israel plans to increase the number of operational batteries to six in the coming years, with the arrival of $205 million the Obama administration has pledged it will provide Israel to purchase additional rocket defense systems. The Defense Ministry recently completed negotiations with Iron Dome manufacturer Rafael about the upcoming deal.
Sources in the Air Force said that the Iron Dome was still undergoing an operational evaluation but would continue to be activated in the event of continued attacks from the Gaza Strip.
Former defense minister and Labor Party MK Amir Peretz who made the decision to develop the Iron Dome, hailed the success and said that it was the result of “well-trained young soldiers who were prepared for their mission.”
WarSclerotic 
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