Initial elements of the Iron Dome, developed by Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, will be delivered to the IDF in September.
The rapid deployment of the system was enabled following successful tests in July in which the Iron Dome intercepted three 122 mm Grad-type rockets.
The Iron Dome is designed to defend an area of 150 km² from rockets with ranges of up to 70km, from the indigenously developed Palestinian Qassam rocket to the Syrian ‘B302' 302 mm and Iranian Fadjr-5 333 mm rockets deployed in Lebanon and Syria.
The first Iron Dome battery will be deployed outside the southern Israeli town of Sderot, which has been the main target for Palestinian Qassam rockets fired from the Gaza strip.
The system is highly mobile and could be redeployed in northern Israel within 12 hours, depending on the threat assessment.
The IDF assesses that up to 13 Iron Dome batteries will be required to protect the population around the Gaza Strip and northern Israel.