JERUSALEM, March 16 (Xinhua) -- Israel said on Tuesday it has upgraded its anti-rocket Iron Dome system to intercept additional kinds of aerial threats.
The Defense Ministry's Israel Missile Defense Organization and Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, an Israeli weapons and defense company, have "successfully completed a test campaign of the Iron Dome Weapon System," the Israeli Defense Ministry said in a statement.
"This campaign, along with two recent Iron Dome flight tests, demonstrated a significant upgrade of the system's technological capabilities," the statement read.
The system, tested in several scenarios, intercepted and destroyed the targets simulating a simultaneous attack by multiple drones and a salvo of rockets and missiles, it said.
"In the face of emerging and rapidly changing threats, these new capabilities provide the political echelon and defense establishment with the operational flexibility that is critical to our national security," Defense Minister Benny Gantz said in the statement.
The Iron Dome is designed to intercept short-range rockets. In service since 2011, the Israeli military has been using it mainly to intercept rockets launched from the Gaza Strip.
The system is part of Israel's multi-layer air defense systems, which include David's Sling, a medium- to long-range missile defense system, and the long-range Arrow-3. Enditem
