In its fight to survive, Israel has a new weapon in its arsenal, a missile defense shield designated the Iron Dome interceptor system. Hamas fired approximately 1,500 short-to-medium range rockets on Israel from Gaza. They were intercepted with an 84% success rate, resulting in an astoundingly low level of Israeli civilian casualties. This new missile defense system provides confidence in Israel's ability to combat anything Iran might throw at them, while heightening despair among the rest of Israel's enemies. It required the Israeli firms Elta, mPrest Systems, and Rafael only five years to develop Iron Dome. It can intercept rockets within an arc of 2.5 to 44 miles and can recognize when incoming rockets are headed for civilian population centers, ignoring missiles headed for empty ground. Congressman Doug Lamborn (R-CO), co-chairman of the House Missile Defense Caucus and the Israel Allies Caucus, told American Thinker, "The success of the Iron Dome Missile...(Read Full Post)