Israel is deploying a naval version of its Iron Dome defense system for the first time

The Israeli military announced early Tuesday, April 9, that it had deployed its new C-Dome defense system, its naval version of the Iron Dome anti-missile shield, for the first time against aircraft. “suspicious” penetrated its airspace.

On Monday evening, the army issued an alert in Eilat, a city on the southern tip of Israeli territory that was the target of an intercepted ballistic missile attack in February from Yemen's Houthi rebels, allies of Palestinian Hamas.

“Naval forces identified a suspicious aerial target crossing the Israeli border after sirens sounded in the Eilat area regarding an enemy aircraft intrusion. The target was successfully intercepted by the C-Dome naval defense system »Early on Tuesday, the military did not mention anything in a brief statement“No injuries and [d’]No Damage ».

Conservation of important gas deposits

Questioned by Agence France-Presse, the Israeli military did not specify whether or not the suspected device was a drone, but confirmed “First Functional Application of C-DOM”.

The anti-missile defense system, installed on Char-6 corvettes, is a naval version of Iron Dome, which has been used by Israel for more than a decade, particularly to intercept rocket attacks from Hamas and Islamic Jihad in Gaza.

The Israeli military has invested in this new technology in recent years to protect the country's important gas deposits in the eastern Mediterranean. Israel has begun exploiting the Tamar and Leviathan offshore fields in recent years, hoping to promote its energy independence and export its gas to the Middle East and Europe.