First U.S.-built Iron Dome interceptor delivered to Israel

A Raytheon-Rafael joint venture in East Camden, Arkansas, has delivered the first Tamir interceptor for Israel’s Iron Dome air defense system built and assembled entirely in the United States, the Israeli Ministry of Defense said.

The missile was handed over at a ceremony at the plant run by R2S, the joint venture between Raytheon and Israel’s Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, to the Israel Missile Defense Organization, which oversees Israel’s air and missile defense programs within the ministry’s research and development directorate. Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, U.S. Missile Defense Agency Deputy Director Maj. Gen. Jason D. Cothern and Israel Missile Defense Organization Director Moshe Patel attended, along with Rafael and R2S executives. The ministry did not say how many Tamirs the plant will produce or when the next deliveries are due.

The Camden plant is the first site outside Israel to manufacture complete Tamir interceptors, the ministry said. Raytheon and Rafael have produced parts of the missile together for more than a decade under U.S. workshare requirements tied to American funding for Iron Dome, and the Arkansas line now builds the whole round on U.S. soil.

R2S broke ground on the facility in February 2024 and opened it in November 2025, raising its planned investment from $33 million to about $63 million and expanding its expected workforce from 30 to as many as 60 jobs. When the plant opened, R2S received a $1.25 billion direct commercial sales contract to supply Israel with Tamir missiles, missile kits and test equipment, the joint venture’s first production contract.

The same plant is set to build SkyHunter, the U.S. version of the Tamir chosen for the U.S. Marine Corps’ Medium-Range Intercept Capability program, which uses Iron Dome components to defend against cruise missiles, aircraft, rockets, artillery and mortars.

Iron Dome entered service in 2011 to intercept short-range rockets, artillery shells and mortars fired at Israeli towns and cities, and its Tamir interceptor was developed under the Israel Missile Defense Organization’s leadership with Rafael as prime contractor. The ministry said the system has carried out more than 10,000 operational interceptions over 15 years of service, including during recent regional conflicts.

Iron Dome is one of three Israeli air defense programs run jointly with the U.S. Missile Defense Agency, alongside David’s Sling and the Arrow system. The Israel Missile Defense Organization leads development and co-production of David’s Sling and Arrow, and co-production of Iron Dome, together with the Missile Defense Agency and defense companies in both countries.