The escalating conflict between Israelis and Palestinians has led to a renewed focus on Israel’s Iron Dome system and other countries that have purchased similar technologies for their own defenses.
Israel continues to launch air strikes in Gaza as death tolls have risen to at least 900 Israelis and at least 700 Palestinians as of Tuesday, according to Reuters, in addition to thousands wounded on both sides. Three days after Hamas militants assaulted southern Israel in what has been described as the largest attack on its soil in decades, Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it had secured its border with Gaza.
Concerns have also been raised concerning the border of Israel and Lebanon and the prospects of a larger uprising. The Iran-backed Hezbollah reportedly fired rockets from the northern border with aggression linked to militias associated with Hamas in the West Bank, according to an assessment published Monday by the think tank The Institute for the Study of War (ISW).
Others have warned that the possible procurement of precision-guided munitions on Hezbollah’s part, be it from knockoffs of Iranian or Russian technology, could penetrate Israel’s Iron Dome which was first used in 2011.
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John Erath, the senior policy director at the Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation, previously told Newsweek that the air defense system was designed to react to short-range threats and not guided weaponry.
Since the Iron Dome became operational, a slew of other nations across Europe and Asia have either purchased or looked into buying radar components or the entire Iron Dome itself to protect their homeland.
Increased global tensions
Pieter Wezeman, senior researcher at the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), told Newsweek via email that over the past decade, several countries have shown interest in the Iron Dome system: Romania and Cyprus in 2022; Azerbaijan in 2016; South Korea in 2012; India in 2010; and Singapore in 2009.
But India and South Korea ultimately did not go ahead with those plans, and in the other cases, there is no confirmation of actual orders or deliveries.
He said that the longstanding war between Hamas and Israel, tensions and occasional shelling on the Korean peninsula, the use of missiles against targets in Saudi Arabia by Houthis, and the massive use of missiles against Ukraine by Russia, have contributed to a significant demand for systems that can provide some level of defense against land air-launched missiles, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and increasingly advanced combat aircraft.
“Israel has been at the forefront of such technology and has found a significant number of buyers over the whole world, recently even including Morocco and probably the UAE (United Arab Emirates), for its air and missile defense systems,” he said.
Last month, Germany and Israel signed a $3.5 billion agreement for Berlin to buy the sophisticated Arrow 3 missile defense system designed to intercept long-range ballistic missiles.
Iron Dome purchases and interest
Azerbaijan
The Azerbaijan Defense Ministry reportedly purchased its version of Israel’s Iron Dome in May 2021. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu traveled to the political and business ally nations of Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan in 2021.
Azerbaijan is believed to be among the first countries to confirm a purchase of the air defense system, which protects from short-range ballistic missiles. The purchase was believed to be in response to the nation’s years-long conflict with Armenia in relation to the Nagorno-Karabakh territory.
South Korea & North Korea
A month or two after Azerbaijan announced its purchase, rumors abounded of South Korea developing its own version of an Iron Dome to defend itself against North Korean aggression. In June 2021, the South Korean government announced plans to spend over $2.5 billion on research and development to create and implement a system by 2035 to defend its peninsula.
United States
The United States purchased Iron Dome components in 2019.
Recently, Politico reported that U.S. Democratic Senator Chris Van Hollen proposed a three-way deal that would benefit Ukraine in its war against Russia.
The swap would provide Poland, a North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) ally, with the United States’ Iron Dome systems in exchange for additional air defenses sent to Ukraine. Israel previously rejected requests from Washington, D.C., and Kyiv to send the Iron Dome to Ukraine.
“The U.S. procured a system based on the Iron Dome, consisting of two batteries with U.S. radars and other components and using the Tamir missiles [missiles used in the Iron Dome system],” Wezeman said. “It seems Israel would be interested in getting these Tamirs from the U.S. now.
“The U.S. also started in 2023 the process to buy some 1920 Tamir missiles, though we shall see if that deal will move rapidly now [that] Israel will need many of these missiles to replenish and expand its Iron Dome capabilities.”
India
India has also been speculated to be interested in the Iron Dome. However, officials have downplayed the notion due to the development of other defense systems over the years, including Ballistic Missile Defense (BMD) systems like the Prithvi Air Defense (PAD), Advanced Air Defense (AAD), and Akash Air Defense.
Israeli radar system procurement
A larger list of countries has purchased a portion of the Iron Dome—specifically, radar technology.
Canada
In 2015, the Canadian Defense Ministry announced working with Israeli defense manufacturers to acquire medium-range radar for the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) capable of quickly and accurately locating enemy forces weapons, as well as providing advanced aerial surveillance capability. Delivery reportedly took place in 2017.
Finland
In April of this year, the Finnish Defense Ministry announced the authorization of the procurement of David’s Sling system as delivered by Israel’s Rafael Advanced Defense Systems for 316 million euros, or about $335 million USD.
Slovakia
In January 2021, Slovakia—another NATO country—announced a deal with Israel to procure 17 radar systems from Israel in a deal valued at approximately $182 million USD. The deal included the transfer of technology and knowledge from Israel to Slovakia in addition to industrial cooperation.
Hungary
In November 2022, Hungarian officials expressed interest in the Iron Dome system as radar components were scheduled at the time to be in the nation’s possession this calendar year, according to Defense News.
Two years earlier, the Hungarian Armed Forces (HAF) signed a contract with Rheinmetall Canada for the supply of several multi-mission ELMA-2084 radars that were also reportedly purchased by Canada, Singapore, the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
Hungary and Israel have a close relationship, evidenced by new comments made on Monday by Hungarian Defense Minister Kristóf Szalay-Bobrovniczky.
“Hungary considers Israel as one of the key actors in guaranteeing stability in the Middle East, and Israel’s activity in the region also contributes to the security of Europe and Hungary,” he said at the International Pro-Israel Summit organized by the Center for Fundamental Rights in Budapest. “We stand with Israel, which can count on us in times of trouble, too.”
In April 2016, the Singapore Defense Ministry announced the purchase of the ELM-2084 Multi-Mission Radar (MMR) system.
Romania
In September 2022, Romanian Defense Minister Vasile Dincu expressed interest in acquiring the Iron Dome system from Israel, according to Haaretz.
“We want to bring Israeli technological knowledge and innovation to Romania,” Dincu said. “Our military industry is old-fashioned. And I’ve discovered that Israel, unlike others, is a country that doesn’t just want to sell military equipment but also wants to obtain a license to manufacture it in Romania, and that’s very important to us. This will enable us to export the weapons systems to NATO.”
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom has also purchased Iron Dome technology to create its Sky Sabre system, which includes a Rafael-produced fire control center coupled to a Swedish radar and UK-developed Common Anti-air Modular Missiles (CAMM) fired from surface to air, according to Wezeman.
“The Sky Sabre has been developed for similar purposes, marketed as being ‘able to hit a tennis ball-sized object travelling at the speed of sound,'” he said. “The example of the Sky Sabre [is] to stress that there are systems that can function as alternatives to [the] Iron Dome, including some that are used in Ukraine [for example].”
Newsweek reached out via email to the aforementioned countries’ defense ministries for comment.