The naval version of the Iron Dome missile defense system installed on a ship intercepted a drone that entered Israeli airspace near the southernmost city of Eilat shortly before midnight on Monday, the military said. Hebrew Defense System, christened with the name C Dome,
The naval version of Iron Dome missile shield activated to neutralize a “suspicious” aircraft that had entered its airspace. On Monday evening, the military issued an alert in the Eilat sector, a city on Israel’s southern tip that was the target of an intercepted rocket fire by Yemen’s Houthi rebels in February.
The advanced model of Iron Dome, known as C-Dome, is used in the USA Sa’ar 6 class corvettes of the Navy and entered service in November 2022. This platform It is capable of firing rockets, cruise missiles and drones. according to the Israeli Ministry of Defense. The Iron Dome, in turn, has been used by Israel for more than a decade with the aim of intercepting rocket fire from Hamas and Islamic Jihad from the Gaza Strip.
“After the sirens were activated in the Eilat region regarding the infiltration of an enemy apparatus, The naval forces identified a suspicious air target crossing Israeli territory. “The target was successfully intercepted by the C-Dome naval defense system,” the Army said in a statement, ruling out injuries and damage.
In recent weeks there have been several drone attacks in the Eilat area by an Iran-backed group in Iraq. Interviewed by AFP, The Israeli Defense Forces did not provide any information about the type of object shot down. However, they confirmed that it was “the first operational use of the C-Dome.” Beachgoers in Eilat filmed the moment of interception over the southern city, which has been attacked several times during the war in Gaza.
The Israeli army invested in this infrastructure, which was installed on Saar-6 corvettes Protecting the country’s important gas fields in the Eastern Mediterranean.