The pre-emptive strike by the Israel Air Force on Hezbollah sites in Lebanon has raised the level of alert throughout Israel, especially in the country’s air defences. Everyone wonders whether Israel is capable of repelling massive attacks with missiles and UAVs by Hezbollah and its allies, and whether we will sustain heavy losses of life and property.
To try to understand the situation aright, we spoke briefly to Hilla Haddad Chmelnik, an aeronautics and space engineer who participated in the development of the Iron Dome short-range rocket interception system, and a former director general of the Ministry of Innovation and Science.
The last time we spoke, after the attack by Iran, you said that you were not surprised by the success of the air defense array, and that the system was expected to achieve over 90% success. Is it geared up to a similar success rate now, in view of the threats by Hezbollah
"Even when we spoke the previous time about the readiness of Israel air defences, that was of course true and related to the threat of the Hezbollah terrorist organization as well. We have seen throughout that past few months that there have been many successes against Hezbollah. We have seen since the beginning of the war that actually dealing with small UAVs is more problematic for the Air Force. It has gradually found solutions, but, certainly, our air defense was planned to deal with the quantity and type of weaponry in Hezbollah’s hands.
"It was clear that Hezbollah will activate, or will try to activate, considerable force. Hezbollah has tried to create an equation of attacking strategic sites, military or political, in the face of the attacks that they are sustaining there."
Are our air defences capable of protecting these sensitive sites well?
"The air defense array is presumably able to deploy the best possible defense and to protect them. As we have now seen, it is also prepared to carry out a pre-emptive strike, because an attack of that kind, with these rockets, by Hezbollah, requires much longer and more complicated preparation than we have seen up to now. It is therefore possible to identify it, thanks of course to the good intelligence that the army has in this area, but even if the rockets had been fired, the air defense system would have been able to deal with them."
What do you think Hezbollah will do now?
"In my view, because of their recent preparations and because of the humiliation of the killing of their commander, they will again try to carry out attacks on quality targets, strategic sites or densely populated areas. The IDF is suitably prepared; the air defense system is optimally deployed in accordance with this kind of threat. I think that we are well prepared, and as far as whatever we don’t manage to block is concerned, I’m sure that the public will behave responsibly, so that there will not be mass casualties, but only damage to property. What’s more, we have seen that the rocket threat from the south has diminished very significantly, and so the air defense has deployed forces accordingly. I don't think we will see dramatic changes, although again, every day a situation is assessed and forces moved accordingly."
Can Iron Dome handle the number of rockets that Hezbollah has?
"It's not just about Iron Dome. It's about a whole array of several layers - Iron Dome, David's Sling, Arrow 2, Arrow 3, interceptions by planes and, of course security rooms, etc. This overall defensive system creates a network that is very, very tight, and even if one misses, there is another opportunity and another opportunity. This is what makes it possible to achieve success in such high percentages. Therefore, Iron Dome is by definition part of an array that intercepts rockets, in the short range layer."
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on August 25, 2024.
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