Israel now has a maritime version of the Iron Dome

Having already proven its value defending the skies over Tel Aviv—shooting down 85 percent (735 rockets) of incoming fire during the recent Gaza War—Rafael’s Iron Dome missile defense shield is taking its talents to the high seas. The C-Dome, as the naval iteration is called, made its debut at the Paris Euronaval conference earlier this week. Like its land-based predecessor, the C-Dome identifies, targets, tracks, and engages every potential threat that enters its airspace—from rockets and mortars to attack helicopters and UAVs—from any direction.

The maker of Israel’s “Iron Dome” has unveiled a maritime version of the rocket-blocking defence system which it says could be especially useful in protecting national economic resources at sea like oil and gas platforms. State-owned defence contractor Rafael wants to leverage the system’s much-vaunted success in protecting Israeli civilians in this summer’s Gaza war, hoping to draw navies as buyers for the new maritime version Rafael unveiled the “C-Dome” at this week’s Euronaval conference near Paris. The system which endeavours to help combat vessels counteract any threats from the air, including missiles, helicopters and tiny unmanned drone aircraft, which could increasingly become tools of combat and reconnaissance at sea just as they have on land in recent years. Large naval vessels generally already have radar-based interception systems to counter incoming threats, but Rafael executives say C-Dome offers innovations.