The US Army stated Monday that its first Iron Dome Defence System (IDDS-A) Battery had completed a live-fire test. IDDS-A will defend supported forces within fixed and semi-fixed locations against sub-sonic Cruise Missiles, Groups 2 &3 Unmanned Aircraft Systems, Rockets, Artillery and Mortar threats.
In 2019, the United States and Israel signed an agreement to purchase two IDDS-A batteries to protect deployed US forces against a variety of aerial threats. The IDDS-A systems were delivered in 2020 and have been subjected to an acceptance testing and operator training process over the past few months.
According to the Army, soldiers from the 3-43 Air Defence Artillery (ADA) Battalion(BN), a subordinate unit of the 11th ADA Brigade in Fort Bliss, Texas, successfully engaged eight cruise missile surrogate targets during the live-fire exercise.
It is planned for the US Army to field both IDDS-A batteries as an interim cruise missile defence solution while simultaneously pursuing the acquisition of an enduring Indirect Fire Protection Capability (IFPC) Increment 2 (Inc2) system. Technology insertions into future versions of the IFPC programme will include directed energy, which will provide a critical protection capability against threats such as subsonic Cruise Missiles, Groups 2 and 3 unmanned aircraft systems, rockets, artillery and mortars.
