Israel’s Defense Ministry delivered the first of two Iron Dome batteries to the US army on Wednesday, a little over a year after the US signed a purchase agreement.

“These batteries will be employed in the defense of US troops against a variety of ballistic and aerial threats,” the Defense Ministry said.

The US signed an agreement with Rafael Advanced Defense Systems Ltd. last August for the purchase of two batteries, with plans to purchase two more units and further integrate the Iron Dome missile defense system into the US system.

However, the US has since scrapped that plan, announcing in March that it will not be purchasing more batteries due to difficulties with integrating them into their existing air defense systems.

A small symbolic ceremony was held at Rafael’s Leshem Institute on Wednesday to mark the delivery of the battery to the US with the presence of Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz, Economy Minister Amir Peretz, Rafael CEO Yoav Har-Even, and others senior defense officials.

“The Iron Dome system which will serve the U.S. military is tailored according to U.S. requirements,” said Rafael Executive Vice President and Head of Rafael’s Air and Missile Defense Division, Pini Yungman. “That being said, its performance capabilities, as seen in Israel, will remain the same. We began the project with a series of tests and demonstrations in the ‘White Sands’ testing field in the US. To date, we have conducted three demonstrations and intercepted targets chosen by the U.S. Army for the Iron Dome system.”

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)