Israeli Sources Reject Claims of a Low Intercept Rate By “Iron Dome”

“It’s like trying to perform an operation on a patient with closed eyes” one Israeli expert said in response to a ” scientific report” claiming that the “Iron Dome” rocket  interceptor achieved a very low kill rate in the recent operation in Gaza. Official reports state that during operation “Pillar of Defense” the system intercepted approximately 85% of the rockets launched from Gaza.

According to a report prepared by Theodore Postol, Dr. Mordechai Shefer, and an unnamed scientist who worked for Iron Dome’s manufacturer and was quoted in Haaretz daily, the Iron Dome system shot down only 5% of its targets. The report claims that the Israel defense forces (IDF) statements about the high kill rate resulted from confusion about the explosion that often occurred as the missile approached its target. ”In the vast majority of the cases, the explosion was that of the missile self-destructing after detecting that it would not strike the incoming Palestinian rocket.”

The experts also note a wide discrepancy between the number of damage claims submitted by Israeli civilians (3,200) and the number of rockets the IDF concedes struck populated areas (58).  The Israeli police reported 109 incidents in which they investigated damage caused by Palestinian rockets, which is double the number that the IDF claims.

Iron Dome rocket intercepting system/ courtesy of IDF’s spokesman unit.

Israeli sources familiar with the Iron Dome operation said that what they call ”amateur research ” was made in the most strange way by sitting at home and watching  videos on YouTube, ” A research like this is possible only if you have all the raw material in your possession, including videos and radar data ” one of the experts said.

The sources added that the report will probably be used by the supports of a laser based rocket interceptor system. “Even if we pour billions of dollars into that effort, such an operational laser system will be operational only in 2030. The incoming rockets will not wait.”

They further added that the huge interest in the Iron Dome system is some countries that viewed the real data serves as further proof that this report is based on “something that is firm like a piece of paper.”

By Arie Egozi / i-HLS.com

Tazpit News Agency

Posted by Editor on March 10, 2013. Filed under Israeli News,Slider. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.