On 27 November the Israeli Defence Force (IDF), in cooperation with Israel Missile Defense Organisation and Israeli defence technology company Rafael, successfully completed a naval exercise, in which a 'navalised' Iron Dome aerial defence system was deemed qualified for operational use in the IDF.
Over a number of days, the Israeli Navy and Air Force conducted a number of preplanned exercises to test the system's operational abilities. During one such exercise, an Iron Dome system operated by Aerial Defence troops was affixed to the flight deck of the Sa'ar class corvette INS Lahav. Israel sees an application for Iron Dome in the protection of its drilling platforms located in the Mediterranean Sea.
Projectiles that simulated existing threats in the region, such as Russian made BM-21 Grad rockets, were launched at the vessel and were located by its Adi radar. The projectiles were then intercepted by the Tamir interceptor missile launched by the Iron Dome system.
Rear Admiral Dror Friedman told Haaretz: “We proved here an ability to coordinate between the naval radar and the Iron Dome system, and that’s a very significant accomplishment for us; we got a really good result and this test leads us to declare that we have an operational system.”
Rafael is pitching elements of Iron Dome for the ADF's Land 19 Phase 7B/Air 6500 integrated anti-missile defence (IAMD) capability. Katherine Ziesing wrote extensively on Iron Dome in September and March 2016.