Israel's Iron Dome Under Scrutiny After Iranian Strikes Near Nuke Sites

Few places in Israel are better shielded than its main nuclear research facility and reactor in the southern Negev Desert. Therefore, many were left shocked when an Iranian ballistic missile penetrated Israel's air defence system, the much-vaunted Iron Dome, and struck the town of Dimona on Sunday -- just 8 miles (approximately 12.8 kilometres) away from the site -- leaving 78 people injured. Hours later, another Iranian missile hit a large ultra-Orthodox Jewish community in the nearby town of Arad, where around 115 people were wounded. 

Iran said the Dimona strike was in response to an earlier attack on its nuclear site at Natanz.

What was more alarming was the Israeli military's admission that it tried to intercept the two ballistic missiles, which struck about three hours apart, penetrating the Iron Dome. Now, the Israel Air Force has launched an investigation into the failure and said that its initial findings indicated that the missiles had not been intercepted due to a "chain of malfunctions" rather than a systemic failure.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who visited the impacted sites, said it was a "miracle" that nobody had been killed in the attacks. He, however, did not offer any explanation for why the air defence system-- in which Israel and the United States have invested billions of dollars for decades--  failed to intercept the Iranian attack. 

The system is designed to intercept short-, medium- and longer-range rockets and missiles.

Inside Israel's Air Defence

Iron Dome, the most widely known element of Israel's missile defence, is designed primarily to intercept short-range rockets and missiles from Hamas. According to a New York Times report, the system's most advanced weapon against ballistic missiles is the Arrow 3, the anti-ballistic missile system developed by Israel and the US to intercept targets in a region of space just outside the Earth's atmosphere. 

But its interceptors are costly and time-consuming to produce, meaning that they must be used judiciously. 

Another component is David's Sling (or Magic Wand), an Israeli-American mobile air defence system designed to intercept medium-to-long-range rockets, cruise missiles, aircraft, and drones at ranges of 40–300 km.

The American THAAD system is also reportedly deployed in Israel.

Israel is working to widen the scope and range of its other, more cost-effective and more widely available, interceptor systems to increase its options and optimise its resources.

"It (Israel) is trying to stretch the capabilities of the lower-tier air defences such as Iron Dome and David's Sling," General Ran Kochav, a brigadier general in the reserves and former commander of Israel's air and missile defence forces, told The New York Times. 

New Concerns

Israel's military chief spokesman, Brigadier General Effie Defrin, said that the failures in Arad and Dimona were not connected. But the Israeli news media reported that the costly Arrow 3 anti-ballistic missile system was not deployed against the missiles that struck Arad and Dimona, raising concerns about the need for a cost-effective defence system. 

The attacks came amid reports that Iran might be holding back on firing its most costly and sophisticated missiles, especially as the Israeli military has insisted that its campaign against Tehran is only 'midway'. 

The Israeli military has denied recent reports that it was running out of missile interceptors, saying it had "prepared for prolonged combat". 

In a statement last week, the military said it was monitoring the situation and that "as of now", there was no shortage.

The situation is a reminder of the 12-day war last June, when some within the Israeli security establishment had reportedly voiced concerns about whether the country would run low on air defence missiles before Iran used up its ballistic missile arsenal. 

Officials at the time said Israel had to conserve its use of interceptors and prioritised the defence of densely populated areas and strategic infrastructure.