While negating the terrorist threat to both the South and North is imperitive, it is also important to continue to make terrorism Counter-productive. Therefore intercepting the rocket as soon as posible is very important. Hopefully, the debris of the explosion would fall in enemy territory and all casualties of this debris would be on their side. This would either damage the terrorists or errode their support in the local population. Successful interceptions might then be reclassified as enemy "Work Accidents".

news for all of the people of Israel. May it also lead to further products and exports

Do you imagine have a system that when this terrorist send a qassam rocket to Israel the rocket came back to them like a boomerang. ;-)

If this proves to be as successful as Israel believes it will be, I'm fairly certain the orders will line up in other border/conflict areas that would like to defend assets. It will follow a long line of those like 'Green Pine' and all the Heron drones. The only sad part of this is that Israel is a working R&D laboratory for weapons technology due to their lousy neighbors.

Im sure they will find another way to harm us, but i hope the technology becomes profitable.

Those mentaly deranged people should be killed with their own arms.Ha ha.It will be funny. Actually ,rockets should go back potencialized.

The fact is that each of these iron dome rockets are expensive. Even quality kassams and katyushas cost a fraction of each iron dome rocket. So this isn't a proper solution, but it's definitely a start. But there is a definite need to move towards laser based defenses which have a much lower cost per kill ratio. Though much of the interception technology is now here, so the real hurdle is simply building the energy based systems. However, I shouldn't be completely negative. This system also has a nice psychological factor. Its very disheartening to watch your offensive military systems essentially become obsolete in front of your eyes and realize that you are completely helpless to forthcoming reprisal. But that last word was just key 'reprisals', these defensive measures only help so much, you still got to dig out the roaches and smash'em.

Each Hamas rocket cost $10 & each Iron Dome interceptor cost $30,000. Since the pull out of Gaza thousands of rockets have been fired at Israel if we decided to shoot down every rocket then it would cost hundreds of millions. How long before the IDF & government say this thing is just to expensive to operate its alot cheaper to rebuild. Also as these interceptors are made by Rafael only & are complex so if we have to start shooting down rockets in large numbers how long till the country runs out of interceptors and we need to wait till Rafael can put together a new batch. Hamas rockets are simple and can be put together with basic equipment so they can build plenty of them and very quickly. What about shrapnel the kassams are not large rockets and they don't have a large explosive warhead the biggest risk to life in shrapnel from this low flying rocket. Shoot an interceptor at it you will get shrapnel from 2 low flying rockets. You can shoot down a rocket but you can't stop shrapnel. The decission to order Israeli companies to design from scratch a system that would shoot down these these rockets because after the Lebanon fiasco Olmert & Peretz wanted to try save face so they decided to order the development of a rocket defense system and it would be made by an Israeli company. Iron Dome was a huge waste of money and if large numbers of rockets start falling again it will become a bottomless pit of money.

The other day it was announced that gas masks wil be given out and all will be distributed by 2013. Today we learn that the Iron dome will be ready by the 2nd half of 2010. Yet if Israel attacks Iran this spring(or before) then we will not be protected by the Iron Dome or by the few gas masks that have been distributed. It may be too little too late.

qassams and mortars and, more importantly, so too were family members including grandchildren, I am very grateful for the wonderful work completed by the Israeli defense industry. Thank you!

of money. Bomb them to rubble, deterence is the only thing that will work.

Under Barak Israel worked with the US on a chemical laser weapon & Israel invested hundreds of millions into the project and they the costs got out of control so Israel pulled out even though a working prototype was built and is currently in the US. The $350 million handed to Rafael to make something by Olmert would have better been invested in either continued development of the laser system or developing a laser weapon based on more modern solid state lasers which the US is even starting to mount on planes as part of their missile defense. Even if it had been a project paid for with Israeli money and developed by the US if it was something like a laser weapon that had a cheap and reliable kill rate then we should have done that instead of giving a contract to an Israeli company and saying develop something new. Feeling better psychologicaly because you have something like this doesn't make you safe and at the end of the day it real defense you want not a psychological protection.

With the same coordinates that find and track the launched rocket, feed that data into a system that identifies the location of the launch pad and returns a rocket to that point. Just make sure it's the same size rocket or someone will cry "disproportiate response".

and not rockets deemed to fall in open areas. There's a big cost savings right there. The other factor is a population saved and you really can't put a price on that.

This appears to be a fantastic development for Israel, and even better if it will be able to possibly start to sell these things to other countries in need of short-range missile defense. As far as using it against Hamas and Hezbollah goes, though, what happens if thousands of rockets are shot at Israel as has happened in the past and as will likely happen again?? Will there really be the necessary thousands of interceptors available readily?? And if each interception apparently costs ~$30,000 each, will this not start to get very expensive, very fast??

...is why Israel just simply doesn’t send them 10 rockets for every one sent to Israel. It would be very fair and we would have the bonus that there,in Gaza,our cheap rockets would indeed target a quite big amount of people,enough to teach them a hard lesson everytime they dare to allow themselves the outbreak take them over . Even aerial stricks on them is very expensive.They don't deserve such a waste of money. But,as economical interests must be part of this whole vicious circle of madness...

Life should come first in an ideal world but when you put politics & money together life isn't so important anymore. Once the price to shoot the things down starts getting into the millions then governments start saying can we afford this or should we prioritize on what we shoot. If its heading for Ahkelon then lets shoot it but if its Sderot then money must come first. .

if that's the case, then you just wipe out the "leadership" in gaza and syria, which still provides support for hamass. Make it not worth it for the leaders of syria and iran. Once iran tumbles, then next comes syria. enough dictatorships in the middle east.

. She has potential but she has to divert from olmert and the wimps of kadima and labour. Israelis want no part of that collection of cowards that sharon was hanging on his back.

wont target open area missiles , and much cheaper than rebuilding homes let alone factories, facilities, infrastructure, and of course injuries and compensation for loss of life. whatever it costs to make qassams is utterly irrelevant and is in fact a logical fallacy. BRILLIANT SYSTEM.

its funny that you talk about dollars because besides thats exactly what paid for and will pay in the future for this system. 30billion over the next decade? man, its nice having a US sponsor!

be frank admit it .....your inferiority complex is showing ......

instead of at work. It costs a lot more to reduce taxes to "threatened" zones. It costs a lot more to repair the damages of rockets. It costs a lot more to pay for loss of lives and the medical bills. The financial cost of getting hit by thousands of rockets is in the billions of dollars, while intercepting them is in the hundreds of millions.

A great achievement that began awhile ago.Not new news fools. Our scientists are finding many means to protect Israel. Have any of you not heard about the: IRON DOME?Just old news being repeated. But am pleased just the same that Ynet published it . Cheer up you miserable lot who think about the cost. Does it matter when it will save lives.Particularely when Iran is trying to produce their own version of rockets etc. Look out chums and think.

This will not only benefit Israel,but the USA that we help/give them same.They will benefit too,admit it rather than being SOUR GRAPES. US is not sponsoring this project jj It is always Israel that produces such advanced projects without the help from the US ..

talkin about where the bucks come from. and it was last week or the week before when obama approved 1.5 b for israel and 30b over the next decade. cold fact. US money.

no, a remarkable and ingenious system. just shows what them greenbacks can do! mazel tov!

Where do you think the money goes jj? right into the pockets of the people to enable them to get to work. It is a two way street jj.,and you damn well know it. If it weren't so, do you think the US would be so generous? Besides,funny part is we give them a lot,whereby the others who get billions $$$$$ give nothing in return.Why?because they have nothing to impart except more headaches for the US.However,nothing is free in this world,and even countries like Egypt,Jordan,Pakistan,South Korea and many more get a load of "macaroni!?!But surely they must help the US in some way or t'other.