Israel's Air Defense System Exposes Weaknesses

Reference News Network, March 25 report According to the German "Business Daily" website on March 22, since the outbreak of the conflict, there have been no signs that Iran's intensive missile attacks on Israel have stopped. On the night of the 21st, two Iranian ballistic missiles struck the southern Israeli cities of Dimona and Arad.

The missile strike on Dimona is particularly concerning, as the Shimon Peres Negev Nuclear Research Center is located near the city. When asked whether Iran deliberately targeted the facility and whether it hit its mark, the Israeli military declined to comment. What is certain is that at least two missiles breached the air defense system.

Israeli missile expert Muki Cohen stated that the failure of the air defense system could be attributed to two reasons: a shortage of interceptors and an increasing ability of the adversary to exploit the weaknesses of the identification system.

Israel uses the "Iron Dome" system to intercept rockets and drones. The cost of a "Tamir" interceptor missile is approximately $150,000.

Above the "Iron Dome" system is the "David's Sling" missile defense system, which uses "Arrow"-2 and "Arrow"-3 to intercept ballistic missiles.

The cost of an "Arrow"-2 interceptor missile is about $1 million each, while the cost of an "Arrow"-3 interceptor missile is approximately $3 million each.

This defense architecture is also supplemented by the U.S. "THAAD" missile defense system, which can intercept ballistic missiles during their terminal flight phase.

The cost of a "THAAD" interceptor missile can be as high as $15 million.

In addition to cost, production is also a bottleneck. Cohen pointed out, "The problem is that we do not have enough 'Arrow'-3 missiles."

Cohen said, "Although we did not completely deplete our stock during the attack in June 2025, and even increased production, it is not enough to cope with a long-term war with Iran."

The warheads of the missiles that struck on the night of the 21st weighed about half a ton and traveled at very high speeds, making them difficult for radar to detect.

"What happened in Dimona and Arad could just as easily happen in Tel Aviv," Cohen said.

The Israeli side claims that since the conflict began, the Israeli military has intercepted 92% of over 400 Iranian ballistic missiles. Nevertheless, Cohen sees some weaknesses in Israel's air defense system.

He pointed out that intercepting high-speed missiles is a tremendous challenge. Even if they are detected early, interception is very difficult. (Translated by Jiao Yu)