Israel increased power to their air defense after a rocket was fired at Eilat amid growing instability in Egypt. They added a sixth Iron Dome anti-missile battery and it will be the first operated by reserves soldiers.
The army wants to use the reserves as much as possible and according to Col. Zvika Haimovitch, the commander of the IAF’d Aerial Defense Division’s Active Defense Wing, this sixth dome is the first step. From The Times of Israel:
“This weekend we introduced an additional Iron Dome battery, based on reserves manpower, which will protect the citizens of Israel in times of emergency,” Haimovitch told the army’s weekly Bamahaneh magazine.
The several dozen soldiers who will run the battery, trained as part of what will soon be a full reserves battalion, went through a refresher course at the IAF’s Air Defense School, practicing on a simulator and reacquainting themselves with the system, Bamahaneh reported.
The Iron Dome system debuted in March 2011 and has proven to be a huge help to the Israel Defense Force (IDF). Last November, the five domes caught 86% of the 421 rockets headed to Israel. This new dome will capture short and medium range missiles. The army is working on more, up to a dozen of these batteries.
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