What is Israel's multi-layered defence against Iranian missiles?

JERUSALEM, February 27 (Reuters) - Israel has multi-layered air ‌defences against Iranian ​ballistic missiles, ​an umbrella it may need to lean on as the United States and Iran teeter toward potential military conflict that could draw Iranian attacks on Israeli territory.

ARROW

The long-range Arrow-2 and Arrow-3 interceptors, developed ‌by Israel with an Iranian missile threat in mind, are designed to engage incoming targets ⁠both in and outside the atmosphere respectively. They operate at an altitude that allows for safe dispersal of any non-conventional warheads.

State-owned Israel Aerospace Industries ‌is the project's main contractor while ‌Boeing is involved in producing the interceptors.

DAVID'S SLING

The mid-range David's Sling system is designed to shoot down ballistic missiles fired from 100 km to 200 km (62-124 miles) away.

Developed and manufactured jointly by Israel's state-owned Rafael Advanced Defense ​Systems and RTX Corp, a U.S. company previously known as Raytheon, David's Sling is also designed to intercept aircraft, drones and cruise missiles.

IRON DOME

The short-range Iron Dome air defence system was built to intercept the kind of ⁠rockets fired by Palestinian Islamist militant group Hamas in Gaza.

Developed with U.S. backing, it became operational in 2011. Each truck-towed unit fires radar-guided missiles to blow ​up short-range threats such as rockets, mortars and drones in mid-air.

A naval version of the Iron Dome, to protect ships and sea-based assets, was deployed in 2017.

The system determines whether ​a rocket is on course to hit a populated area. If ‌not, the rocket is ignored and allowed to land harmlessly.

Iron Dome was originally billed as providing city coverage against rockets with ranges of between 4 km and 70 km (2.5-43 miles), ⁠but experts say this has since been expanded.

IRON BEAM

Developed by Israel for more than a decade and declared fully operational in late 2025, the ground-based, high-power Iron Beam laser system is designed to intercept smaller aerial threats, such as UAVs and mortars. Using lasers ⁠to super-heat and disable aerial threats, Iron Beam's operation is expected to be substantially cheaper than some of the other aerial defence ​systems that use intercepting missiles to shoot down incoming threats.

U.S. THAAD SYSTEM

The U.S. military said in October 2024 that it had sent the advanced anti-missile system THAAD - Terminal High Altitude Area Defense - to Israel.

THAAD is a critical part of the U.S. military's air defences ‌and is designed to intercept and destroy short, medium and intermediate-range ballistic missile threats in their terminal phase of flight.

The U.S. military helped to shoot down Iranian missiles fired ‌at Israel, using ground-based systems, one U.S. official said in June 2025, after Israel attacked Iranian nuclear facilities. A U.S. Navy destroyer ⁠in the Eastern Mediterranean also helped to shoot ‌down incoming ballistic missiles, Israeli media ​has reported.

AIR-TO-AIR DEFENCE

Israeli combat helicopters and fighter jets have fired air-to-air missiles to destroy drones that were heading to Israel, military officials have said.

(Reporting by Maayan Lubell and Rami Ayyub; editing by ‌Philippa Fletcher)

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