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Israel is facing a shortage of interceptor missiles as it beefs up its air defenses to protect the country from enemy attacks, according to industry executives, former military officials and analysts. Iran and its proxies.
The United States is racing to help close gaps in Israel’s defense shield, announcing on Sunday the deployment of a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (Thaad) missile defense system, ahead of an expected retaliatory strike. Initiatives from Israel targeting Iran risk further escalation in the region.
“Israel’s ammunition problem is very serious,” said Dana Stroul, a former senior US defense official responsible for the Middle East.
“If Iran responds to Israel’s attack [with a massive air strike campaign]and Hizbollah is also involved, Israel’s air defense system will be stretched,” she said, adding that the US stockpile is not limitless. “The United States cannot continue to supply Ukraine and Israel at the same pace. We are reaching a tipping point.”
Boaz Levy, chief executive of Israel Aerospace Industries, a state-owned company that produces Arrow interceptors used to shoot down ballistic missiles, said he is working three shifts to keep production lines running. .
“Some of our lines operate 24 hours, seven days a week. Our goal is to meet all our obligations,” Levy said, adding that the time needed to produce the interceptor missile “is not a matter of days.” Although Israel did not disclose the size of its stockpile, he added: “It is no secret that we need to replenish our stockpiles.”
Israel’s three-layered air defense system has so far shot down the majority of drones and missiles fired at the country by Iran and its proxies from across the region.
The country’s Iron Dome system has shot down short-range missiles and drones fired by Hamas from Gaza, while David’s Sling has intercepted heavier rockets fired from Lebanon, and the Arrow system has intercepted bullet missiles. religion from Iran. Houthi rebels in Yemen and Iraqi militias have also fired missiles, rockets and drones into Israel.
the Israeli army announced in April that, with the help of the US and other allies, it had achieved a 99% interception rate against a range of 170 drones, 30 cruise missiles and 120 ballistic missiles. of Iran.
But Israel was less successful in fending off a second Iranian attack with more than 180 ballistic missiles fired on October 1. According to open source intelligence analysts, nearly three dozen missiles were fired. hit Israel’s Nevatim air base, while a rocket exploded 700 meters from the army’s headquarters. Mossad, Israel’s foreign intelligence agency.
The US-supplied Thaad battery, designed to shoot down ballistic missiles, will be located next to Israel’s Arrow system. It bolsters Israel’s overall air defense capabilities as Benjamin Netanyahu’s government plans retaliation attacks for Iran’s missile attack in October, which Tehran says was revenge for the killing of its leaders. of the militant groups Hamas and Hizbollah.
Lebanon-based Hizbollah has shown it can still strike at least 60km into Israeli territory despite Israeli attacks on its commanders and weapons depots for weeks.
On Sunday, a Hizbollah Drone attack kills 4 Israeli soldiers at a military base in the center of the country.
“We have not seen Hizbollah’s full capabilities. Assaf Orion, a former Israeli major general and head of strategy for the Israel Defense Forces, said they were only firing about a tenth of their estimated pre-war launch capacity, a few hundred missiles a day instead of 2,000.
“Part of that gap is due to Hizbollah choosing not to reach its full potential, and part is due to the decline of the IDF. . . But Hizbollah still has the strength to wage a strong campaign,” Orion added. “Haifa and northern Israel are still experiencing missile and drone attacks on an almost daily basis.”
Analysts say defense planners and Israel’s AI-powered air defense force are having to choose which areas to protect over others.
According to official Israeli figures, more than 20,000 rockets and missiles were fired at Israel in the past year from Gaza and Lebanon alone.
Ehud Eilam, a former researcher at the Israeli Ministry of Defense, said: “During the October 1 attack, it was felt that the IDF had reserved a number of Arrow interceptors in case Iran fired the next salvo at Tel Aviv”. “It’s only a matter of time before Israel starts running out of interceptors and has to prioritize how to deploy them.”
Illustrations by Ian Bott and maps by Jana Tauschinski
