As thousands of military rockets have rained death on Ukraine and Israel, America has been unable to give either country two U.S. Army anti-rocket batteries that the service has no plans to deploy — despite months of congressional pressure for the Biden administration to act.
The system at issue is Iron Dome. It was designed by Israeli companies and is now co-produced by U.S. and Israeli contractors. Each battery comprises a radar, command computers and three to four launchers that can propel up to 80 Tamir interceptor missiles out to a range of 43 miles to knock down enemy rockets, mortar or artillery shells, according to the Congressional Research Service.
The United States has spent at least $3 billion bankrolling the development and procurement of Iron Dome batteries for Israel.
