In what has been labeled as a continuing infatuation with the Israeli Iron Dome, US Presidential candidate Donald Trump has once again pledged to build a nationwide Iron Dome missile defense system for the United States akin to the one operated by Israel.

Incidentally, Trump’s statement comes when an Iranian-supplied drone breached Israel’s much-coveted defense system led by the Iron Dome in capital Tel Aviv.

Speaking at the Republican National Convention and referencing the Iranian aerial strike on Israel in April this year, Trump said, “Israel has an Iron Dome. They have a missile defense system. Three-hundred and forty-two missiles were shot into Israel, and only one got through a little bit.”

“Why should other countries have this and we don’t? No, we’re going to build an Iron Dome over our country, and we’re going to be sure that nothing can come and harm our people.”

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Trump then pledged, “We will replenish our military and build an Iron Dome missile defense system to ensure that no one can strike our homeland, and this great endeavor would be built entirely in the United States of America.”

Iron Dome is an Israeli mobile all-weather air defense system produced by Rafael Advanced Defense Systems and Israel Aerospace Industries. However, it has received massive funding from the United States.

The United States has two Iron Dome batteries used for testing and has deployed one in Guam, its territory in the Pacific.

The US Army tested the interceptor of the Iron Dome air defense system in 2022 to prepare for the deployment of the first of two Iron Dome Defense System-Army (IDDS-A) batteries. The system reportedly intercepted all threats while operating in tandem with US systems. In 2022, the US Marine Corps successfully tested the Iron Dome’s Tamir missile.

At that time, officials from the US Army stated that the US Army would temporarily install the two Iron Dome Defense System-Army batteries as a cruise missile defense system. Moreover, the overall goal was to integrate the system into the wider US missile defense network.

However, Donald Trump’s speech and idea of developing a nationwide Iron Dome-type missile defense system has been called an obsession and overreach by military observers.

The official Republican platform (GOP) also calls for an Iron Dome-like national missile defense system to be built in the United States — a pledge that is questionable because the military has not requested this system, and experts believe it may have limited use for the country.

“PREVENT WORLD WAR THREE, RESTORE PEACE IN EUROPE AND THE MIDDLE EAST, AND BUILD A GREAT IRON DOME MISSILE DEFENSE SHIELD OVER OUR ENTIRE COUNTRY — ALL MADE IN AMERICA,” the 2024 GOP platform stated the party’s new goals.

Israeli publication ‘The Times of Israel’ published a report on Donald Trump’s pledge for the Iron Dome on July 19. Without mincing words, the publication noted: “It is not clear what threat Trump is trying to thwart, as Iron Dome is only capable of intercepting short-range rockets — not a danger the US has ever faced along its borders.”

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Skepticism About Trump’s Resolve For Iron Dome

Israel’s Iron Dome system is widely recognized as one of the most potent air defense systems globally. Originally designed to counter short-range threats from Gaza and southern Lebanon, it has demonstrated its effectiveness by intercepting thousands of rockets since its deployment in 2011.

According to Israel’s Ministry of Defense, the Iron Dome is engineered to handle multiple threats simultaneously. It boasts an impressive success rate of 90 to 96 percent, making it an effective defense system against incoming rockets and missiles.

When Iran launched a massive aerial strike on Israel in April 2024, Israel successfully used all three components of its layered missile defense network, including Arrow, David Sling, and the Iron Dome.

The success of the final tier, the Iron Dome, in thwarting Iranian missiles and drones has caught Trump’s attention. He has since been rallying behind the idea that the US could develop its version of the technology, given that it had paid almost $3 billion to assist Israel in developing and maintaining the system.

The Iron Dome is optimized for destroying small, slow, unguided targets such as short-range rockets and drones. For this reason alone, a national Iron Dome is deemed unsuitable for the United States because of the country’s different topography and perception of threat.

Experts have noted, almost in unison, that it would not make sense to replicate the Iron Dome system in the United States as the country does not suffer the same kind of short-range missile threat as Israel since it has allies to the north and south of it and oceans on both sides.

Earlier, an unknown US defense official told ABC News that the  US Northern Command, the military combatant organization tasked with protecting the country from foreign missiles, had not expressed interest in a national missile defense system.

The official emphasized that the military uses several systems “that together provide agility in responding to potential threats, which increases available options for the nation’s leaders.”

At a time when the country is also trying to defend itself against cyber and space strikes, it would most likely cost billions of dollars to expand that system to cover every square inch of the United States. It also does not align with the latest threats, like hypersonic missiles developed and deployed by Russia and China. Moreover, the Iron Dome cannot protect against ballistic missiles, a threat more prominent for the continental US.

In a layered missile defense network, an Iron Dome-style system could, at most, be the lowest tier; even then, its overall utility would be limited. The base tier of Israel’s multilayered air defense is made up of at least 10 Iron Dome systems, which are intended to intercept artillery shells, mortars, and rockets at a maximum distance of less than 50 miles.

An American Iron Dome would require hundreds of units, even with a longer range, to adequately cover the entire United States and its major population centers. Unfortunately, even that wouldn’t be an adequate defense against the primary threats the American heartland would probably face.

As per popular opinion by military experts and officials alike, an Iron Dome-style system would be helpful for point defense of particular high-value targets, such as military bases or vital infrastructure.

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