Dear Members and Friends,
10,000 incoming rockets and mortars have been launched with intent to kill over 10,000 people in Israel over the past 10 years. The 10,000 rockets and mortars were launched from the Gaza Strip and bordering countries of Lebanon and Syria. In early 2011, Israel, funded by $1.395 billion U.S. tax dollars, developed and deployed its own anti-rocket, mortar, and short-range missile defense system called Iron Dome, which has intercepted over 1,500 of 10,000 incoming projectiles to date and purposely tracked-but not engaged-thousands of rockets as they fell harmlessly to earth in uninhabited regions of Israel. This defensive system has the unique ability to predict the point of impact for incoming projectiles, enabling Iron Dome to prioritize the engagement of targets, intercepting projectiles that threaten populated areas, while ignoring ordinance that is predicted to land in uninhabited regions. It uses a proximity fuse interceptor called the Tamir (Click here to watch a slow-motion video of a Tamir interceptor being launched from the Iron Dome system), 70 percent of which are being produced in the United States, costing $100,000 per interceptor. Each of the 12 Israel Iron Dome batteries are made up of multiple launchers, a radar and command management center, and Tamir interceptors, which all together costs around $35 million each. This system is designed to warn, track and beat down salvos of rockets and missiles at up to a 70 to 100 km range (43 to 62 miles) from a point-defense location. Launchers are deployed to protect cities and high value targets within this range, facing towards the flight path of incoming projectiles. Iron Dome has proven itself to be the most cost-effective and efficient rocket defense system for population centers in the world today.
The Iron Dome provides rocket and mortar protection for Israel, a country that is about the size of New Jersey, and is the first line of defense for the Israeli population against short-range projectiles. Israel’s second layer of defense is the new “David’s Sling” system, which looks to be operational next year and uses a dolphin-nosed interceptor called the Stunner that can intercept sophisticated maneuvering missiles. David’s Sling covers an area ranging from the top end of Iron Dome to the top end of the Patriot air defense system and uses a hit-to-kill technology, inducing a metal-on-metal collision between the Stunner interceptor and the incoming missile; a collision that is more accurate and creates less debris. Israel’s third layer is the Arrow-2 system, which has been deployed since 2000, uses a proximity fuse to intercept, and defends the high-end range of David’s Sling and into the lower reaches of space. The final fourth layer interceptor is called Arrow-3, with a unique sensor and interceptor that uses hit-to-kill technology for intercepts in space, providing a “shoot-look-shoot again” capability to intercept ballistic missiles before they enter the atmosphere. This system is a few years away from being operational, but was validated during its first intercept attempt test last year (Click here for a link to the Reuters article called, “Israel says Arrow 3 missile shield aces test, hitting target in space”). This ingenious approach and system development in a real missile and rocket threat environment for the survival of your nation is tremendously respected and commended.
The United States has provided funding for all layers of Israel’s rocket and missile defense in hopes that Israel will become independent with its defensive capabilities and share new technical approaches to missile and rocket defense with American engineers. The United States under President Obama has spent around $3 Billion on Israel’s missile defense systems, spending of which Congress has added $100 to $400 million annually above the President’s annual budget requests. This year the President has rejected the Congressional appropriation boost for $455 million above his request (Click here for a link to a Jewish News Service titled, “Tension Over Missile Defense Funding Further Complicates Obama’s Legacy on Israel”). Israel’s missile defense funding does not come out of the Memoriam of Understanding established in 2007 that called for $3.1 Billion from the dedicated Foreign Military Funding (FMF), which is set to be re-negotiated by 2018. Annual funding for Israeli missile defense comes out of the Missile Defense Agency’s (MDA) budget, and when Congress appropriates above the President’s request, it pulls that additional funding from the MDA. The MDA’s overall budget has been depleted under President Obama’s administration by 33%, while funding for Israel’s missile defense has increased from 2% to 9% of the total MDA budget. This along with a 28% decrease in MDA’s annual research and development funding during President Obama’s administration shows the critical need to share R&D information with Israel and reverse the downward spiral of President Obama’s drastic MDA budget cuts on R&D (Click here to read the article from Defense News titled, “Senators Concerned with Shrinking Missile Defense Research Budget”).
The U.S.-Israel cooperation on missile defense and the return on investment for the United States is incredibly important, especially when considering today’s decreasing R&D investment, along with the high cost of intercept–ranging from $7 million for short-range interceptors to $80 million for long-range interceptors–and as North Korea and Iran blatantly proliferate against UN Resolutions; resolutions that forbade ballistic missile testing. It is fiscally and strategically irresponsible for the United States to continue a damaging and limiting approach to missile defense. Technologies such as railguns and directed energy lasers, once developed and proven, could bring the cost of intercept way below the cost of the offensive missile. Imagine if we used a laser beam or a piece of metal fired out of electrical magnetic rail gun instead of the interceptors of today, which cost from $7 million to $80 million each. The technology is out there, but it needs proper investment, talent and priority.
Unlike the United States, Israel is surrounded by adversarial powers who–even after firing 10,000 rockets and mortars at the Israeli population–will no doubt continue to increase the quantity and sophistication of their offensive capabilities. Israel is being forced–far greater than any nation in the world–to look at new technologies for its own survival, increasing its missile defense budget and avoiding policy limitations to defeat the rocket and missile threat it faces today and in the future.
MDAA was honored to be Israel this past week.
MDAA Founder Riki Ellison giving his speech in Israel on June 27
