Iron Dome missile defence system belongs to which of the following countries?

Question

Iron Dome missile defence system belongs to which of the following countries?

1. France

2. United States of America

3. Israel

Select the correct answer from the code given below:

1. A. 1 and 2
2. B. Only 3 (Correct answer)
3. C. 2 and 3
4. D. Only 1

Correct Answer

Option B — Only 3

Detailed Solution & Explanation

The correct answer is Only 3.

Key Points

• The Iron Dome missile defence system belongs to Israel, giving option (b).
• Developed by Rafael Advanced Defense Systems and Israel Aerospace Industries, with United States funding and support, it became operational in 2011.

Additional Information

• The Iron Dome is a short-range system, designed to intercept rockets, artillery and mortar shells fired from 4 to 70 km away. Its radar computes the projected impact point and fires only at rockets heading for populated areas, leaving the rest to fall harmlessly — the feature that makes it economical to operate.
• Israel's layered air defence: Iron Dome (short range), David's Sling (medium range) and Arrow-2/Arrow-3 (long range and exo-atmospheric ballistic missiles).
• Comparable systems worth knowing: the S-400 Triumf (Russia, acquired by India), THAAD and Patriot PAC-3 (USA), and HQ-9 (China).
• India's own programme is the two-tier Ballistic Missile Defence (BMD) system developed by the DRDO — the Prithvi Air Defence (PAD) for exo-atmospheric and Advanced Air Defence (AAD) for endo-atmospheric interception. India's indigenous short-range systems include Akash, QRSAM and MR-SAM/Barak-8, the last developed jointly with Israel.