US Marine Corps tests Tamir Iron Dome Missile Defence System: United States Marine Corps has completed a series of live fire tests of its anit-missile defence system incorporating Tamir Iron Dome missile interceptors designed and developed by Israel defence company Rafael Advances Defense Systems.
The latest live fire test culminates a series of three trials carried out over the past year, and for the third time the system successfully intercepted a wide variety of targets. In this latest test, the ability to continuously launch Tamir Iron Dome interceptors from a mobile launcher developed by the Marines was also tested.
The series of tests were conducted by the Marines at the White Sands facility in New Mexico as part of the development program to test a new prototype system for Medium Range Intercept Capability (MRIC – Medium Range Intercept Capability).
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The successful experiment proved both the performance of the mobile launcher developed for the Marines, and the performance of the IRON DOME interceptor, in several complicated interception scenarios.
“The three tests that took place this year proved that the performance of the MRIC system with IRON DOME interceptors is good and provides a dedicated launcher solution for the Marines,” said Don Kelly, Project Manager in the Air Defense Department (GBAD) of the Marine Corps’ Land Directorate (PEO Land Systems) at the end of the test.
Executive Vice President and Head of the Air and Missile Defense Directorate at Rafael Pini Yungman said, “Once again, RAFAEL’s systems have proven that they are able to integrate into existing systems and create synergy between systems, providing optimal performance.
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“RAFAEL‘s advanced systems are developed with an “open architecture” allowing seamless integration with other systems. In the latest test conducted by the Marines, a successful combination of the TAMIR interceptor launched from a new launcher developed under the leadership of the Marines, combined with the Marines’ radar system and the battle management system, which are systems developed by American industries, was demonstrated,” Pini Yungman said in a statement sent to Defence Star.
Moshe Patel, Head of the Israeli Missile Defense Organization (IMDO) at the Ministry of Defense said the current test, which completed a series of three tests, were further proof of the ability of the IRON DOME TAMIR interceptor, together with its ground array, to integrate quickly and efficiently with the entire relevant system and to intercept a variety of aerial threats in challenging and complex scenarios.
“We welcome any cooperation in the field of defense with the branches of the US military,” Moshe Patel said.
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The Tamir interceptor is capable of intercepting cruise missiles, unmanned aerial vehicles, a variety of rockets, mortars and Precision Guided Missiles. The interceptor was developed by Rafael Advanced Defense Systems Limited, which was a partner in adapting it to the configuration of the Marine Corps and in conducting the experiment, said the company.
