C-Dome uses the same interceptors as Iron Dome (representative)
Israel:
Israel has deployed a ship-based defense system called the C-Dome for the first time in response to “suspicious” targets entering its airspace near the country’s southern city of Eilat, the Israeli military said on Tuesday.
The C-Dome is the Navy version of the Iron Dome air defense system, designed to defend against rocket and missile attacks.
Late on Monday, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) reported an alert in the Eilat area, which in February was intercepted by a ballistic missile attack from Yemen’s Houthi rebels, allies of the Palestinian militant group Hamas.
“After an alarm sounded in the Eilat area of enemy aircraft infiltration, IDF naval units detected a suspicious aerial target entering Israeli territory,” the IDF said in a statement released early Tuesday.
“The target was successfully intercepted by the ‘C-Dome’ naval defense system,” the statement said.
No injuries or damage were reported.
An IDF spokesman would not confirm whether the “suspicious” target was a drone, but told AFP it was “the first actual use of the C-Dome”.
The C-Dome is installed on a German-made Saar 6-class frigate and uses the same interceptors as Iron Dome, according to state operator Rafael Advanced Defense Systems.
The land-based Iron Dome has been used countless times to intercept rockets fired from the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip. The defense system costs approximately $50,000 per launch.
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