Israel used its elaborate system of air defences to counter hundreds of missiles and drones launched by Iran on Tuesday night.
The various elements of the system are used to deal with different threats.
It has also been deployed in recent months against attacks from Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Houthi rebels in Yemen.
What are the different tiers of Israel’s missile defence system?
Israel has several air defence systems, each one designed to intercept incoming missiles at different altitudes and distances.
Iron Dome, the most well-known of Israel’s missile shields, is designed to intercept short-range rockets, as well as shells and mortars, at ranges of between 4km and 70km from the missile launcher.
David’s Sling is meant to destroy longer-range rockets, cruise missiles and medium-range or long-range ballistic missiles from a distance of up to 300km.
The Arrow 2 and Arrow 3 systems defend against medium-range and long-range ballistic missiles when they are anywhere up to 2,400km away.
It is thought that Israel used all its missile defence systems to counter Iran’s latest attack, which involved around 180 missiles, some of which struck Israeli territory.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said that 90% of its projectiles had hit their targets. Israel said most were intercepted.
It is the second attack by Iran this year, after it fired hundreds of missiles and drones at Israel in April.
How does Iron Dome work?
Iron Dome has become the most combat-tested air defence system in the world, because of the number of missiles in recent years fired into Israel by Hamas and other militant groups from Gaza, and by Hezbollah from Lebanon.
There are Iron Dome batteries sited across Israel. Every battery comprises three or four launchers, each containing 20 interceptor missiles.
Iron Dome detects and tracks incoming rockets with radar and calculates which ones are likely to fall on populated areas. It then fires missiles at these rockets, while the others are left to fall on open ground.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has previously claimed that Iron Dome destroys 90% of the rockets it targets. Its “Tamir” missiles are thought to cost about $50,000 each.
The system was developed after the 2006 “Summer War” between Israel and Hezbollah. The Lebanon-based armed group fired nearly 4,000 rockets into Israel, causing huge damage and killing dozens of citizens.
Iron Dome is said to be the world’s best-tested missile defence system
Designed by Israeli firms Rafael Advanced Defense Systems and Israel Aerospace Industries – with some US support – Iron Dome was deployed in 2011.
It was first used in combat that year, intercepting a rocket fired from Gaza.
Since October 2023, Iron Dome missiles have intercepted tens of thousands of rockets fired by Hamas and other militant groups from Gaza.
What is Hezbollah and why is Israel attacking Lebanon?
How does David’s Sling work?
David’s Sling, called “Magic Wand” in Hebrew, can intercept missiles up to 300km away.
Jointly developed by Rafael Advanced Defense Systems of Israel and Raytheon of the US, it started operating in 2017.
A David’s Sling launcher pictured during a military exercise
Its “Stunner” missiles are designed to shoot down short-range, mid-range and long-range ballistic missiles at low altitudes. Like Iron Dome, David’s Sling only targets missiles which threaten built-up areas.
Both David’s Sling and Iron Dome are designed also to intercept aircraft, drones and cruise missiles.
Each David’s Sling missile costs about $1m.
The system was used in September 2024 to shoot down a ballistic missile fired by Hezbollah from Lebanon.
The IDF said this was an Iranian-made Qadr-1 – a medium-range ballistic missile that can carry a warhead of between 700kg and 1,000kg.
Hezbollah said the missile was aimed at the headquarters of Mossad in Tel Aviv, but the IDF said it was heading towards a residential area.
David’s Sling was also used in May 2023 when Palestinian Islamic Jihad, a militant group in Gaza, launched over 1,100 missiles at Israel. Israel says it shot down 96% of the rockets which posed a threat.
How do Arrow 2 and Arrow 3 work?
Arrow 2 is designed to destroy short-range and medium-range ballistic missiles while they are flying through the upper atmosphere, about 50km above the Earth.
Work started on the system after the First Gulf War in 1991, when Iraq fired dozens of Soviet-made Scud missiles into Israel. It entered service in 2000.
It can detect missiles from 500km away. It intercepts them at comparatively short range – at distances of up to 100km from the launch site.
Its missiles travel at nine times the speed of sound, and it can fire at up to 14 targets at once.
Arrow 2 was reportedly used in combat for the first time in 2017, to shoot down a Syrian surface-to-air missile.
The Arrow 2 system is designed to intercept ballistic missiles in Earth’s upper atmosphere
Arrow 3 was first deployed in 2017, and is designed to intercept long-range ballistic missiles as they travel at the top of their arc, outside the Earth’s atmosphere. It has a range of 2,400km.
It was first used in combat in 2023, to intercept a ballistic missile which the Houthi rebels in Yemen fired at the coastal city of Eilat, in southern Israel.
The system was developed by state-owned Israel Aerospace Industries, with help from the US company Boeing.
