Israel’s Naval Iron Dome Completes Final Stage of Operationalization

A ship-mounted version of Israel’s Iron Dome air defense system, the C-DOME, has been declared operational following a recent test.

The C-Dome underwent a successful test last month aboard the Sa’ar 6-class corvette INS Oz, simulating threats the system is likely to face at sea.

The interception test was carried out by the Israeli Navy, the Defense Ministry’s Israel Missile Defense Organization (IMDO) and Rafael Advanced Defense Systems as the primary contractor and developer, by the Israel Aerospace Industries’ Elta as the radar manufacturer, and by mPrest as the c2 manufacturer.

“The C-Dome system expertly identified threats and successfully intercepted them by launching Iron Dome interceptors toward them from the sea,” said IMDO head Moshe Patel.

The C-Dome is an advanced configuration of the Iron Dome and is operated from the four Sa’ar 6 Magen-class corvettes that have been received by the Navy in the last two years.

The Navy’s new Sa’ar 6 corvettes are tasked with guarding the natural gas platforms off Israel’s coast as well as its shipping lanes, which bring in 98% of the country’s imports. As per reports, the IDF decided not to place Iron Dome batteries on oil rigs themselves for safety reasons and instead placed C-DOME on the Sa’ar 6.

The announcement comes after Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) was accused of striking an Israeli-owned oil tanker off the coast of Oman with an explosive-laden drone on Tuesday.

“The successful interception tests are a result of the C-Dome system’s implementation onboard the INS Oz corvette,” said Deputy Commander in Chief & Navy Chief of Staff, Rear Adm. Guy Goldfarb. “We recently acknowledged the initial operationalization of the INS Magen corvette, the first to join the Sa’ar 6 series and complete its first operational activity – the patrol of the State of Israel’s Exclusive Economic Zone and the protection of our economic and strategic assets.”

The C-Dome will form another layer of Israel’s multi-tiered missile and air defense array that has four operational defense layers: Iron Dome, David’s Sling, Arrow 2 and Arrow 3. Together, the systems provide the country with a protective umbrella to counter threats posed by both short- and mid-range missiles used by Hezbollah and terror groups in Gaza, as well as the threat posed by more sophisticated long-range Iranian ballistic missiles.