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| Israel-Palestine-Jordan |
| IAF deploys third Iron Dome battery outside Ashdod |
| 2011-09-01 |
| IDF and IAF air defense divisions speed up deployment of rocket defense system to the day before the opening of the new school year. The battery joined two others stationed in the South – one outside Ashkelon and one near Beersheba – which successfully intercepted a few dozen Gazan rockets during the recent escalation. Defense Minister Ehud Barak said that by the end of 2012 Israel would have nine operational Iron Dome batteries, including thousands of Tamir interceptors. Each interceptor costs around $50,000 and usually two are fired at rockets slated for interception. Earlier this year, the US gave Israel $205 million to buy four more Iron Dome batteries. Each battery consists of three launchers equipped with 20 Tamir interceptors and is reportedly capable of protecting an urban area of approximately 150 square kilometers. |
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