The Iron Dome defense system in soutern Israel on May 13, 2023. Photo by MENAHEM KAHANA/AFP via Getty Images
By Jacob Kornbluh
January 27, 2025
President Donald Trump is expected to sign on Monday an executive order to create a U.S. version of Israel’s Iron Dome missile defense system that repels cross-border attacks and is credited with saving countless lives.
The White House said the system would be designed to protect American borders from “ballistic, hypersonic, advanced cruise missiles, and other next generation aerial attacks,” although the U.S. has never suffered an attack of that kind.
The order, referred to as “Iron Dome for America,” fulfills one of many Trump campaign promises.
“In my next term, we will build a great Iron Dome over our country — a dome like has never been seen before,” Trump said at a campaign rally last July. ”A state-of-the-art missile defense shield that will be entirely made in the USA.” The plan was also included in the RNC 2024 platform.
What is the Iron Dome?
The U.S. helped fund the creation of the Iron Dome in Israel, first proposed by the Bush administration and pursued by the Obama administration, and provides substantial financial assistance for its maintenance.
The system became operational in 2011 and was first tested during the 2012 and 2014 Gaza conflicts.
Developed by Rafael Advanced Defense Systems in coordination with Raytheon and known as “Kippat Barzel” in Hebrew, the aerial system intercepts most of the short-range rockets and missiles fired indiscriminately at civilians by Hamas, Hezbollah and other Islamic terror groups. The 10 batteries are portable, with truck-towed launchers that can be quickly relocated without the need for specialized transportation.
The Israeli military said the Iron Dome has a success rate of over 90%.
“Why should other countries have this and we don’t?” Trump said during his acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, sharing his fascination with the interceptor technology he observed during the conflict between Hamas and Israel. “No, no, we’re going to build an Iron Dome over our country, and we’re going to be sure that nothing can come and harm our people.”
Rafael told the New York Post that its system could be adapted to protect a country as large as the U.S.
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