Israel is once again relying on its vaunted Iron Dome air-defense system to protect its citizens from rockets fired by Hamas — but it risks becoming overwhelmed if the war against the terror group spreads into a regional conflict, according to reports.

Thousands of rockets have been launched into Israel since Hamas carried out its surprise attack on Oct. 7, but Iron Dome – or “Kippat Barzel” in Hebrew – has shot most of them down in dramatic aerial displays caught on TV.

“Thanks to the Iron Dome, we have not sustained tremendous casualties from the rockets that have been fired,” Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spokesman Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus said.

In August 2022, the Israeli Defense Ministry said the mobile, all-weather system had shot down 97% of Palestinian rockets it had engaged during a weekend surge of Gaza fighting.

Iron Dome boasted a 95.6% success rate during a rocket attack by the Palestinian Islamic Jihad in May, according to CNBC.

Here’s an in-depth look at Iron Dome as Israel prepares for what is expected to be a major ground assault into the Gaza Strip:

What is Iron Dome?

The system was developed by the Israeli Rafael Advanced Defense Systems and Israel Aerospace Industries, with US financial and technical support, to protect populated areas and critical assets from short-range aerial threats.

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Development for Iron Dome began in 2006 in response to the conflict between Israel and the Hezbollah, which fired rockets into Israel from southern Lebanon.

It was first deployed in March 2011 near the southern city of Beersheva, about 25 miles from the Gaza Strip, to combat Soviet-designed Grad rockets fired from the Palestinian territory.

Iron Dome launches guided missiles to intercept rockets and other short-range projectiles in mid-air using a sophisticated computer. The system has been upgraded multiple times over the years.

It is estimated to have at least 10 batteries deployed across Israel, each of which is designed to defend a 60-square-mile area, CNBC reported.

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Each battery is equipped with three to four launchers, each of which contains up to 20 Tamir interceptors that can shoot down projectiles from 2.5 to 43 miles away, according to a Congressional Research Service report cited by the outlet.

How does it work?

Iron Dome uses radar to track incoming projectiles and determines whether their trajectories pose threats to strategically important sites or populated areas, according to CNBC.

If a rocket poses a threat, a command-and-control center launches its own Tamir missile to intercept it. Rockets that are not expected to hit vulnerable sites are left to land harmlessly.

The system is composed of three parts: the radar, which detects an incoming rocket and collects data on its flight path; a computer, which calculates where the rocket is bound to hit; and a launcher, which fires the Tamir interceptors, NPR reported.

“For rockets and artillery, for ballistic missiles, it’s pretty predictable. So if you see something traveling on a particular arc, you kind of know where it’s going to be going on the rest of its trajectory,” Tom Karako, director of the Missile Defense Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, told the outlet.

“You also know where it’s going to end up,” he added. “If a rocket’s going off course and is just going to land in the Negev desert, they’re just going to let that one go.”

How much does it cost?

An Iron Dome battery costs about $100 million to produce, CNBC reported, citing an estimate by the Center for Strategic International Studies, a US think-tank.

Each missile it launches costs about $40,000 to $50,000, according to NPR.

The US has invested nearly $3 billion into the launchers, interceptors and general maintenance, according to a Congressional Research Service report cited by the outlet.

President Biden has pledged to ask Congress for an “unprecedented support package” to bolster Israel’s security forces.

“We are going to keep Iron Dome fully supplied so it can continue standing sentinel over Israeli skies, saving Israeli lives,” he said at the end of his visit to Israel on Wednesday.

Israel is expected to receive two new Iron Dome batteries from the US in the coming days, Axios reported Thursday, citing one Israeli and two American officials.

Reuters, citing a US official and a congressional aide, reported that the Pentagon plans to send the two units it had previously purchased from Israel back to the Jewish state to defend itself.

The White House said Monday that it expected to fulfill additional security requests from Israel as quickly as possible.

Biden promised replenishment of the system’s interceptors as well as ammunition in addition to redoubling the US military presence in the region.

What are its limitations?

Analysts have warned that Iron Dome could be overwhelmed by heavy rocket fire.

The Center for European Policy Analysis, another US think-tank, said in 2021 that if terrorists successfully identify and achieve the Iron Dome’s saturation “critical updates to the system may not be achievable,” CNBC reported.

A saturation attack is designed to overwhelm the system with simultaneous missile attacks from multiple directions to impair its ability to respond effectively.

A report from Bloomberg on Thursday also noted that as the war with Hamas continues, the Iron Dome risks being stretched to the limit if the conflict expands.

Hamas fired 3,000 rockets in the first 20 minutes of its attack, a major increase from its previous operations, Patrick Sullivan, director of the US Military Academy’s Modern War Institute, told the outlet.

US officials are worried about the possibility of Iran-backed Hezbollah, which has about 100,000 missiles and rockets, firing them at Israeli cities from Lebanon.

“If Hezbollah enters the ongoing conflict, there is absolutely a risk of Iron Dome defenses getting overwhelmed by rocket fire,” Shaan Shaikh, an associate fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, DC, told Bloomberg.

“Hezbollah’s missile arsenal, of course, dwarfs that of Hamas and exceeds it in quality and accuracy,” Alexander Downes, professor of political science and international affairs at The George Washington University, told the outlet.

“If it launches massive salvos, some will get through,” he said.

With Post wires