Israel's Ministry of Defense has announced that the US will buy the short range missile defense systems for "immediate needs."
The US army has decided to procure an unspecified number of Israel's Iron Dome short range missile defense systems from its developer Rafael Advanced Defense Systems Ltd. for immediate needs, Israel's Ministry of Defense has announced. This is the first-ever export deal for Iron Dome agreed by Israel.
Israel's Ministry of Defense said that Iron Dome will undergo trials for deployment as a system for defending US forces overseas from a wide range of ballistic and airborne threats and in the long-term it will be tested for wider use."
"Globes" revealed last September that intensive talks were underway between the US army and Israel's Ministry of Defense on the procurement of Iron Dome. To date, Iron Dome has intercepted over 2,000 rockets fired at Israel from Gaza.
Acting Defense Minister and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said, "This is a great achievement for Israel and another manifestation of the deepening of our steadfast alliance with the US, and an expression of Israel's rising status in the world."
US Army Col. Patrick Seiber told "CNN," "The Iron Dome will be assessed and experimented as a system that is currently available to protect deployed US military service members against a wide variety of indirect fire threats and aerial threats. While Iron Dome has been in operational use by the Israeli Air Force since 2011 and proven effective in combat, it should be noted that the US Army will assess a variety of options for its long-term IFPC solution."