IAF deploys third Iron Dome battery outside Ashdod
IAF deploys third Iron Dome battery outside As… JPost – Defense.
The Israel Air Force deployed a third battery of the Iron Dome rocket defense system outside the southern city of Ashdod on Wednesday in the face of continued rocket fire from the Gaza Strip.
Defense Minister Ehud Barak, who earlier this week said that it would take ten days until the battery was deployed near Ashdod, praised Wednesday the IDF and the IAF air defense divisions for speeding up the deployment to the day before the opening of the new school year.
“The deployment is part of a national emergency plan that I announced several weeks ago and is a demonstration of Israel’s commitment to defend its citizens from rockets and missiles” Barak said.
Ashdod Mayor Yehiel Lasri issued a statement thanking the defense establishment for deploying the system outside of his city. Ashdod has been bombarded by rockets in recent weeks during the current escalation of violence in the South in which over 160 rockets were fired into israel from Gaza.
Israel already had two batteries stationed in the South – one outside of Ashkelon, and one near Beersheba – which successfully intercepted a few dozen rockets during the recent escalation.
By the end of 2012, Barak said that Israel would have nine operational Iron Dome batteries including thousands of Tamir interceptors. Each interceptor costs around $50,000 and usually two are fired at rockets slated for interception.
“This is something that completely changes the way we protect our citizens, who still need standard shelters, but will also increase the government’s operational freedom in the future,” he said.
Earlier this year, the Obama Administration gave Israel $205 million to purchase four more Iron Dome batteries. Each battery consists of three launchers equipped with 20 Tamir interceptors and is reportedly capable of protecting an urban area of approximately 150-square kilometers.
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