The United States military announced on Wednesday that it plans to acquire Israel’s Iron Dome missile-defense systems, citing “an immediate need,” according to Israel’s Defense Ministry.
“The Iron Dome will be assessed and experimented as a system that is currently available to protect deployed U.S. military service members against a wide variety of indirect fire threats and aerial threats,” said U.S. Army Col. Patrick Seiber in a statement.
“While Iron Dome has been in operational use by the Israeli Air Force since 2011 and proven effective in combat, it should be noted that the U.S. Army will assess a variety of options for its long-term IFPC solution,” continued the statement.
However, Seiber said “no decisions have been made regarding the fielding or experimentation of Iron Dome in specific theaters.”
The Israeli manufacturer and state-owned Rafael Advanced Defense Systems Ltd., which initially developed the Iron Dome system, confirmed the agreement without giving further information to the press.
