The first Iron Dome Tamir interceptors manufactured at an Arkansas plant are bound for Israel, a new U.S. supply source for the defense system on the third anniversary of Oct. 7.
Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, a Republican whose father is the U.S. ambassador to Israel, joined American and Israeli officials at the Raytheon-Rafael Protection Systems manufacturing facility in East Camden, Ark., to celebrate the delivery.
“Today is even more special to me, because my own parents are some of those who the Iron Dome protects, along with 250,000 other American citizens who call Israel home,” Sanders said.
Her father and her mother, Janet Huckabee, live in Jerusalem, where the U.S. embassy is based. The elder Huckabee is also a former Arkansas governor.
“They spent most of last summer huddled in a bunker,” Huckabee Sanders said. “They saw what Hamas and Iranian missiles would do if not taken out, and they’re alive today because of the Iron Dome.”
The $63 million factory opened in November 2025 and is expected to create up to 60 jobs, the governor’s office said. The company plans to increase production to supply U.S. and international customers.
The plant will also manufacture SkyHunter, the American version of Tamir, for the U.S. Marine Corps medium-range intercept capability.
Moshe Patel, director of the Israeli Missile Defense Organization, said that Iron Dome had carried out more than 12,000 successful operational interceptions in Israel.
“Israeli technology, American production, one shared mission to protect life,” he said.
