US Army to buy Iron Dome weapons system from Israel

By Umar Farooq

WASHINGTON

The U.S. Army on Wednesday announced it is planning to obtain a new air defense weapons system developed by Israel.

The Iron Dome is intended to fill a short term need for its Indirect Fire Protection Capability (IFPC) program, which was designed by the U.S. to defend against rockets, cruise missiles and unmanned aircrafts.

The system will be sent to areas where U.S. soldiers are deployed rather than being used as a protection for American territories.

"The Iron Dome will be assessed and experimented as a system that is currently available to protect deployed U.S. military service members against a wide variety of indirect fire threats and aerial threats," Col. Patrick R. Seiber said in a statement.

The weapons system was first developed by Israel's defense technology firm Rafael, and has been in use by the Israeli military for years.

According to the major U.S. defense firm Raytheon, 10 Iron Dome batteries are used by Israel, with each battery having a range of 60 square miles.

"While Iron Dome has been in operational use by the Israeli Air Force since 2011 and proven effective in combat, it should be noted that the U.S. Army will assess a variety of options for its long-term IFPC solution," Reiber added.

*Kasim Ileri contributed to this report