The US military has ultimately decided not to purchase Israel’s Iron Dome missile defense system intended to counter air threats, the Jerusalem Post reported on Wednesday.
This decision comes after the US military had conducted conclusive tests of the system developed by the Israeli company Rafael Advanced Defense Systems.
According to Defense News, Washington opted for the system from Dynetics, owned by the American company Leidos, after comparative tests between the two systems last month in New Mexico.
Dynetics’ system, called Enduring Shield, offers 360-degree missile detection and can fire at multiple threats simultaneously. The system is simple to use, and can be fully integrated with the army’s air and missile defense command system.
The Israeli Defense Ministry and Rafael Advanced Defense Systems told the Jerusalem Post that they would not comment on the Defense News revelations, but that if confirmed, it would be a significant setback for the Israeli government’s military industry.
According to the Calcalist news site, the average price of an Iron Dome device is around 27 million shekels ($7.12 million).’
Israel Aerospace Industries, which manufactures the Iron Dome radars, achieved record sales of $4.2 billion in 2020. Some 150 MMR radars, the brains of the system, have been sold to customers around the world, Calcalist said.
