BY YUGAL KAROL
What is the Iron Dome ?
In case you've been watching the coverage of battling in Gaza and Israel, you will not have gotten away from the Iron Dome's brilliant showcase, astounding particularly when rockets angling toward the north from Gaza are chosen from the sky in a reiteration of mid-air blasts. Just a little before 10 years , Iron Dome had its doubters, both in Israel and abroad but now it seems to work for everyone.
Israel has been using this iron dome to defend against the rockets from the neighboring threats. Each of the deployed Iron Dome battery protects a relatively small parcel of territory, but Israel now has sufficient mobile batteries to protect nearly all of the territories under threat .
How does it work ?
The Iron Dome has three main systems that work together to provide a shield over the area where it is deployed . Firstly it has a detection and tracking radar to spot any incoming threats, a battle management and weapon control system, and a missile firing unit to intercept it .
How much does it cost?
Each battery for the iron dome can cost well over $50 million and just a single interceptor Tamir missile costs around $80,000.Primarily it is the guidance system which makes it so expensive. The rocket motor is relatively cheap. The guidance system has to get the missile very close to the incoming threat in order to destroy it. Previous guidance systems didn't get close enough so they were ineffective. Each missile is assembled with very high precision. It is not yet mass produced. To ensure that the incoming threat is destroyed two Iron Dome missiles are fired which doubles the cost. In contrast, the rockets it intercepts from enemies cost less than a iPhone . The system dispatches two Tamir missiles to intercept each of these rockets who are worth a iPhone X or a 1000 dollars
A lot of times this cost of the Iron done is criticized but it the cost-effectiveness should be measured for each life saved . With each Israeli having a contribution of $43,952 on average in the Isreal Economy . It is not just that the people are saved, but each of these interceptions likely prevent $42 to $86 million in property damage.
Although it can be said that Israel's Iron Done works well, it just delays the inevitable. It delays the solution for peace. With the Iron Dome working well and the threats being intercepted so easily, getting a solution to problem seems difficult. This is where one could say the opportunity cost could occur. Israelis risk confusing the short-term military advantage provided by Iron Dome with the long term need for an original and comprehensive diplomatic solution .
As long as the fighting goes there will be loss of working hours ,loss of life and damage to the property .
Recovering the costs
To convince the people to keep using the Iron Dome the government needs to look for recovering the costs of the Iron Dome .
Well, there is no better solution than selling to other countries at massive profits. But there is a catch, a weakness for most potential markets is that each Iron Dome system protects no more than 100–150 square kilometers and leaves this is effective in a small country only. The U.S. has also delivered $1 billion USD in aid to Israel, with the aim of replenishing funds for the Iron Dome system since the US doesn't want Israel to use other methods like military incursions or preventative destruction of missile stockpiles. But this $1 Billion recovery is still isn't half of all the costs incurred .
Is the 'Iron Dome' a good deal ?
The system has so far intercepted thousands of rockets and, according to Rafael, its success rate is well over 90%. But it still doesn't justify the delaying of peace and the associated costs . With more complex and demanding versions coming up, named 'The I-DOME' which is the mobile variant with all components on a single truck and C-DOME which is the naval version for deployment on ships is being added to the arsenal the costs will only go upwards from here. For the present it might seem like a good deal, but not for the future !
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Yugal is a second year student of B.Com Hons course of Kirori Mal College, University of Delhi. He has a keen interest in world politics and affairs and is a cricket freak. He always tries to broaden his knowledge and improve himself. Apart from this he likes to share and grab some financial knowledge wherever possible and is actively investing in the stock market
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect the views of the organization.
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