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At the end of 2017, the Israeli military announced that the sea-based version of the "Iron Dome" anti-missile system has full combat capabilities and will be officially put into service. The full name of the sea-based version of the "Iron Dome" anti-missile system is "Tamar Adir," also known as the C-"Dome" interception system, and the Israeli military plans to use it to protect its country's important economic and military facilities in the Mediterranean, and at the same time carry out part of the fleet's air defense tasks, and integrate it with various types of anti-missile weapon systems, including the land-based version of the "Iron Dome," to build a high-efficiency missile defense network for Israel.
A sea-based version of the "Iron Dome" interceptor missile undergoing launch tests
Modular launch box is adopted
Israel's sea-based version of the "Iron Dome" anti-missile system is derived from the well-known land-based version of the "Iron Dome" system. Compared with the land-based version of the "Iron Dome" anti-missile system, the sea-based version of the "Iron Dome" system is also composed of three parts: the EL/M-2248 multifunctional active phased array radar, the command and control system, and the interceptor missile. But in terms of details, there is still a big difference between the two. First of all, the sea-based version of the "Iron Dome" system adopts the innovative design of a rectangular modular launch box, which allows it to be installed either below the deck of a new surface ship or placed on the deck for retrofitting existing ships.
Judging from the appearance of the interceptor missile, the sea-based version of the "Iron Dome" system adopts the same canard layout as the land-based "Tamar" interceptor missile, with a total length of about 3 meters, a diameter of 160 mm, a total weight of 90 kg, a firing height range of between 5 meters and 10,000 meters, and a maximum range of 50 kilometers. Compared with the same type of shipborne air defense systems, such as the European "Aster"-15 missile and the American ESSM "Improved Sea Sparrow" missile, the interceptor missile of the sea-based version of the "Iron Dome" system is not inferior in range, but also occupies less space in the launch system, which is more suitable for installation on small surface ships with a displacement of about 1,000 tons, and can effectively increase the density of anti-aircraft firepower.
The interceptor missile of the sea-based version of the "Iron Dome" system adopts a proximity fuse and a high-performance warhead, which has many advantages, such as high reliability and relatively convenient disassembly and maintenance. In general, interceptor missiles are placed in 20 hydraulically controlled launch boxes, which can be fired in two ways: oblique and vertical. The launch box integrates an independent power supply system, a hydraulic control system, a fault detection and maintenance system, etc., and is connected to the ship's combat command center through a radio data link to realize the rapid reception of control transmission commands.
The moment of launch of the ground-based version of the "Iron Dome" anti-missile system
Designed with an open software platform
Secondly, another outstanding feature of the sea-based version of the "Iron Dome" anti-missile system is that it adopts an open software platform design, which does not require the installation of an independent fire control radar, and only needs to use the shipborne multifunctional active phased array radar to achieve target guidance. At the same time, the sea-based version of the "Iron Dome" anti-missile system has also achieved a seamless connection with the shipboard command system. The EL/M-2248 multifunctional active phased array radar has powerful performance, and theoretically, up to eight interceptor missiles can be guided at the same time to strike at multiple incoming targets in the air. In addition to having anti-rocket capabilities, it also has strong multi-target engagement and anti-ship missile saturation capabilities. At the end of 2017, the Israeli military tested the ability of the land-based version of the Iron Dome anti-missile system to share target information with the Saar-5 class corvettes on maritime alert missions. It is worth noting that the Saar-5 class corvettes participating in the tests this time were not equipped with the sea-based version of the "Iron Dome" anti-missile system.
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The "Iron Dome" anti-missile system and naval ships have the ability to share target information, which means that the "Saar"-5 class corvettes can quickly go south to the border waters of Gaza in Palestine or go north to reach the border waters of Lebanon in the event of a conflict, so as to expand the detection range of the radar of the land-based "Iron Dome" system, and use the "Barak"-8 air defense missiles carried on board the ships and the land-based "Tamar" interceptor missiles to jointly carry out air defense interception missions. In addition, the sea-based version of the "Iron Dome" anti-missile system also has a unique feature, that is, its radar system can quickly predict and evaluate the damage of the indicative rocket after calculating its impact point. If the rocket does not fall into an important target on land, military bases, residential areas, ships, ports, and other marine facilities, or does not cause casualties, it will be automatically determined that it will not counterattack, otherwise it will be destroyed by launching an interceptor missile, so as to achieve the effect of saving combat costs and improving the overall efficiency-cost ratio of the system.
The "Tamayer" interceptor missile equipped with the "Iron Dome" anti-missile system
Not a perfect weapon system
The emergence of the sea-based version of the "Iron Dome" anti-missile system has extended Israel's missile defense system from land to sea, and while making up for the shortcomings of its navy, it has also significantly enhanced the tightness of its anti-missile network, which is of great significance.
As the saying goes, no weapon system in the world is absolutely perfect, and the sea-based version of the "Iron Dome" anti-missile system is no exception. Although Israel has very strong scientific research strength, it also has a lot of experience in the research and development of various weapons and equipment. However, the "Iron Dome" system took less than five years from the establishment of the project to the actual combat test, and it contains obvious "emergency" weapon colors, so it inevitably has many defects and problems. First of all, the sea-based version of the "Iron Dome" anti-missile system has been upgraded to a limited extent, and the range of combat targets is also relatively narrow. The maximum launch altitude of the "Tamer" interceptor missile used in the "Iron Dome" anti-missile system is only about 10,000 meters, and although it can effectively intercept various types of rockets, it cannot pose an adequate threat to high-altitude targets. Even an ordinary jet fighter can evade the system's blows by quickly climbing to a certain height.
Second, the cost-effectiveness ratio of the sea-based version of the "Iron Dome" anti-missile system in intercepting rockets is still on the high side. Although the cost of using the "Iron Dome" system is much lower than that of the "Aegis" and "Patriot" systems developed by the United States after many upgrades and improvements, the unit price of the "Tamayer" interceptor missile is still as high as $35,000. And the cost of the "Cassan" series of rockets, which is the main opponent, is only about 1,000 dollars. Therefore, in an asymmetric offensive and defensive war, the disadvantage of the sea-based version of the "Iron Dome" anti-missile system in its own cost-effectiveness ratio is still very obvious. In the future, after a major breakthrough in laser weapons, which are relatively low-cost, the "Iron Dome" system may be replaced by it.
The sea-based version of the "Iron Dome" anti-missile system installed on the aft deck of the Saar-4.5 class missile boat
In addition to this, although many Israeli cities are located close to the Mediterranean Sea, the theoretical development of a sea-based missile defense system is nothing to blame. But in reality, the biggest ballistic missile threat Israel faces comes from Iran in the southeast. Unfortunately, Israel's coastline is entirely on the northwestern side of the area under its control. Therefore, in actual combat, Israel's sea-based missile defense system cannot play an adequate role in counterattacking incoming missiles from the Iranian direction, which is precisely the primary reason why Israel has long focused on developing a land-based missile defense system. In the future, Israel may also use fighter jets or unmanned aerial vehicles to carry "Tamar" interceptor missiles or similar weapons to establish its new "air-launched" missile interception system, in order to significantly increase the combat range of anti-missile weapons and at the same time play a greater strategic deterrent role in neighboring countries.