Maj. Gen. Ido Nehushtan Speaking at the Fisher Institute Conference For Aerial and Space Strategy Research . Photo: IDF Spokesperson

The Iron Dome system is designed to shoot down short range rockets and missiles; the system was developed by Rafael Advanced Defense Systems Ltd. On Wednesday (May 13) the Chief Commander of the IAF, Maj. Gen. Ido Nehushtan, gave a lecture during the Fisher Brothers Conference for Aerial and Space Strategies. The conference was entitled Missiles and Rockets - Challenge and Response, at which he explained that the system is expected to begin working partly by the year 2010. The system will be activated by the IAF's antiaircraft system.

Maj. Gen. Nehushtan discussed the financial aspects of the project. “Financially, it’s not terrible; the costs are much lower than a large military operation. Whoever operates the rockets will know that 80-90 percent of them won’t enter Israel.” 

Maj. Gen. Nehushtan also mentioned the David’s Sling system, sometimes referred to as the Magic Wand, which is supposed to respond to medium to long range missiles and was developed by Rafael Advanced Defense Systems Ltd in cooperation with the American defense contractor, Raytheon. The use of this system expected to begin in four years, however he stressed that his words should be taken with caution. According to Maj. Gen. Nehushtan, the activation of the Arrow 3 System will take a long time because of its dependency on resources invested in developing the system. The system is meant to intercept long range ballistic missiles.   

The missile interception systems are all developed by Israeli Defense Industries. The system is supposed to improve the active defense abilities of the state of Israel and provide multilayered protection against rockets. This will allow the interception of missiles and rockets of all ranges, on a much higher percentage. According to Maj. Gen. Nehushtan, Israel is one of the most advanced countries in the world in the field of missile interception (rockets vs. rockets). 

“Our enemies are not without knowledge; they are sharp and we shouldn't underestimate them. Iran has long range missiles that can reach Israel. We are aware of them,” said Maj. Gen. Nehushtan, while emphasizing that the IAF, as well as rocket interception, will be activated by antiaircraft systems.

The Chief Commander of the IAF referred to the use of rockets used by terror organizations such as Hamas and Hezbollah, who launch them towards innocent civilians. “As military weapons they are limited, but as terror weapons used against civilians they are effective" 

The Fisher Conference for Aerial and Space Strategic Research is a 2-day conference focusing on a wide variety of subjects in the field of air and space. The conference also dealt with the daily issues faced by the public. The conference combines senior lecturers, as well as lecturers from the IDF, the defense industries, international companies that manufacture weapons, and specialists and researchers from the field of defense. Last year’s conference focused on unmanned aircraft.