As Israel suffers under a continuous heavy rocket barrage, footage coming out of the Holy Land is giving the world a look at the horrors Hamas rains down on innocent civilians. Thankfully, the footage also shows the country’s Iron Dome systems coming to life, countering the terrifying missile swarms with precision-guided munitions.
The onslaught started Monday, with over 1000 rockets raining down on civilian areas.“The terrorist groups in Gaza crossed a red line on the eve of Jerusalem Day, a red line, and attacked us with rockets on the outskirts of Jerusalem,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said of the ongoing attacks. Footage out of Israel shows the rockets falling from the sky before spots of light — missiles fired by Iron Dome systems — rush up to meet them. (Click on each tweet and the sound icon)
The resulting clash is loud, fiery and shreds the killing munitions, rending them into scrap metal and ash.
More video shows the night sky lighting with flashes of light like a biblical scene as swarms of missiles are countered.
While it seems simple, the technology and precision that goes into an Iron Dome system is mind-boggling.
According to Air Force Magazine, the systems are first alerted when radar detects an incoming object up to 45 miles away.
After determining if an object is a threat, the system begins tracking it. Onboard computers calculate the trajectory, predicting if any civilian areas are in danger. If a rocket is found to be falling on a populated area, the Iron Dome roars to life and fires off its own missiles.
The small missiles are guided with high precision, slamming into any incoming threat with blinding speed and an explosive payload.
The Israeli systems boast success rates as high as 90 percent when activated.
Although the system is critical for defending innocent lives, there are limitations to what the Iron Dome can do. As we’ve seen in recent days, massive rocket salvos can overwhelm the system and lead to a few getting through.
Despite this, Israelis love the system that keeps them safe and sound under a rain of rockets.
While the Iron Dome does have shortcomings, authorities in the country are dedicated to improving and refining the system until not a single threat will be able to make it through.
@ Adam Dalgliesh:
First click on the tweet bird and then you will see a new screen on twitter and then click on the sound icon,
When you have seen the whole thing then do the same for the other tweet.
Ted, most of the two video screens are blocked, so we can’t see the rockets, only hear the sound effects.