The Iron Dome system will also be built in Arkansas
RTX subsidiary Raytheon and Israel's Rafael announced today that they have formally agreed to establish a new facility in Arkansas to produce Tamir missiles and its US SkyHunter variant for the Iron Dome air defense system. Therefore the construction of this essential element of anti-aircraft defense passes to the USA.
RTX said in an announcement that "[through the Raytheon-Rafael Area Protection Systems joint venture, the companies have committed to a $33 million capital investment to establish the new facility" in East Camden, Arkansas . The facility will produce missiles “for the U.S. Marine Corps and other allied partners.”
“This new Camden site will be the first full U.S. manufacturing facility to support Armed Forces and allies around the world with this highly capable air defense missile,” said Raytheon's Tom Laliberty, president of Defense Systems land and air, in the announcement.
RTX said the joint venture plans to start work on the new facility by the end of the year and begin producing missiles in 2025.
This is an announcement that was expected, as it has been three years since Raytheon and Rafael announced their intention to produce missiles in the United States. In July, the U.S. Marine Corps made public a visit to East Camden, where officials discussed the possibility of adding an Iron Dome missile production site. East Camden, a small city in southern Arkansas just outside Camden, is home to an existing Raytheon facility, as well as those belonging to other defense giants, including a site where Lockheed Martin produces long-range launchers or HIMARS.
The Iron Dome defense system has risen to prominence in Israel, where for years it has been a key part of a layered air defense designed to protect the nation from missile, rocket, mortar and UAV attacks, with positive ratings from the Israeli army for much of its use, although it apparently showed its limitations during and after the October 7 bombings by Hamas.
The U.S. Marines plan to use a wheeled Iron Dome launcher with SkyHunter missiles as part of what they call their Medium Range Intercept Capability (MRIC) program, closing a major gap between short-range and shoulder-fired aerial delivery. and long-range systems.
“The MRIC is a mid-level acquisition rapid prototyping effort, serving as a short- to medium-range air defense system that fills a crucial gap in contested areas of the Indo-Pacific,” said Lt. Col. Matthew Beck, product manager for A-MANPADS/MRIC, in July. “Although it was primarily designed for defense against cruise missiles, the MRIC also boasts capabilities against other airborne threats and has demonstrated a high level of success in integration efforts through a series of live fire events.”
The US Army also has two Iron Dome batteries, and officials said earlier this week they would ship them back to Israel to help Jerusalem defend its homeland.
“As we have previously stated, the United States will provide additional Iron Dome support to Israel. As a result, the Department of Defense is currently engaged in planning to support the supply of U.S. Iron Dome batteries to Israel,” a U.S. defense official said in a statement Tuesday.
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The article The Iron Dome system will also be built in Arkansas comes from Economic Scenarios .
This is a machine translation of a post published on Scenari Economici at the URL https://scenarieconomici.it/il-sistema-iron-dome-sara-costruito-anche-in-arkansas/ on Sat, 28 Oct 2023 15:29:41 +0000.