Israel open to share Iron Dome technology with India: How it works

Israel is looking to deepen defence ties with India by expanding technology-sharing and manufacturing partnerships, including cooperation on its widely known Iron Dome missile defence system.

Also read: Missiles, drones, no match? Inside India’s Mission Sudarshan Chakra

On Monday, Israeli Consul General in Mumbai Yaniv Revach said that Tel Aviv plans to expand its bilateral defence agreement with India to share technology and manufacture military hardware in India.

Revach's comments came just two days before Prime Minister Narendra Modi was scheduled to visit India. Prime Minister Modi began his two-day visit to Israel on Wednesday.  

"Prime Minister Netanyahu specifically said that one of the aspects of this visit is defence cooperation, and we try to promote and to upgrade the defence cooperation with India, definitely," the Israeli diplomat said in an exclusive interview with IANS.

"We have an ongoing defence cooperation, very unique and strong between the two states, because of the mutual challenges that we're both facing. Now, during this specific visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, we plan to expand this agreement to focus on specific topics, for example, manufacturing here in India, defence cooperation, and also cooperation regarding the Iron Dome and other defence systems in Israel that we can actually share the technology with our partners here in India," Revach explained.

The consul general further stated that to tackle the radical axis, Israel is keen to establish a different axis with India, the states of the Abraham Accords, some African nations, and countries in the Middle East, including Cyprus and Greece. 

What is Israel's Iron Dome?

Israel has relied on its multi-layered air defence network to counter missile and drone attacks from Iran, Hezbollah in Lebanon, Hamas in Gaza and Houthi rebels in Yemen. The system includes Iron Dome, David's Sling, Arrow 2 and Arrow 3 - designed to intercept threats at varying altitudes and ranges.

Iron Dome is the best known of Israel's missile shields. It is designed to intercept short-range rockets, shells and mortars at ranges between 4 km and 70 km. Each battery has three or four launchers, each carrying 20 interceptor missiles.

The system uses radar to detect and track incoming rockets, calculating which are likely to hit populated areas. It fires interceptor missiles only at those threats, allowing others to fall in open areas - a feature that reduces costs. 

The Israeli Defence Forces have previously claimed that Iron Dome destroys 90% of the rockets it targets. 

The mobile I-DOME variant allows the system to be deployed quickly to protect manoeuvring forces, air bases, strategic assets and civilian populations. 

It is designed to counter a range of threats, including rockets, artillery, mortars, drones, cruise missiles and precision-guided munitions.

How Iron Domes fits into India's air defence network

India already operates a layered air defence architecture and is working toward greater indigenisation.

The Akash surface-to-air missile system can engage four aerial targets at a range of up to 25 km. It has been exported to Armenia, while countries including Brazil, the Philippines and Egypt have shown interest. The Akash missile system is fully indigenous, developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).

In the 70-km range category, India fields the Medium Range Surface-to-Air Missile (MRSAM), jointly developed by India and Israel Aerospace Industries. The system can neutralise aerial threats such as missiles, aircraft, helicopters and guided bombs, with variants tailored for the Army, Navy and Air Force.