How Israel’s Iron Dome protects its cities

How layers of air defences protected the country against the biggest onslaught of missiles and drones in its history Israel used all four tiers of its air defences — and help from allies — to block Iran's mass drone and missile attack on Israeli territory on April 13, officials say. The Israeli and U.S. governments said a combination of air-, sea- and ground-launched missiles destroyed nearly all of the hundreds of weapons Iran sent toward Israel. U.S. Central Command, which oversees military operations in the region, said U.S. forces destroyed more than 80 drones and at least six ballistic missiles. Israel has been honing its air defences since enduring Iraqi Scud missile salvoes in the 1991 Gulf War, said Dr. Yehoshua Kalisky, a senior researcher at the Institute for National Security Studies in Tel Aviv. That work resulted in a multi-layered air defence network linked by central control nodes, he said. The outer layers are the Arrow-2 and Arrow-3 systems, designed to intercept ballistic missiles fired from thousands of kilometres away. The Arrow-2 is optimised for destroying missiles in the atmosphere, while the Arrow-3 can hit them while they are coasting in space. Both are meant to minimise the chance