JERUSALEM — Israeli firm Rafael has officially opened a new US factory to produce Iron Dome interceptors, an announcement that came hours after Israel’s Ministry of Defense announced a “multi-billion dollar contract” to the firm for new munitions.
The Ministry of Defense said in a statement Thursday that its Director General Maj. Gen. Amir Baram had “signed a procurement order that will accelerate the production of the Iron Dome defense system.” Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz added the “signing of this landmark contract represents a strategic leap forward that will significantly reinforce our air defense capabilities against adversaries who remain relentless in their efforts to threaten Israel’s security.”
The Iron Dome money comes as a result of a $8.7 billion aid package passed by the US Congress in April 2024, which included $5.2 billion for air defense assets. The signing ceremony for the new buy took place in Tel Aviv at the ministry’s headquarters with US Defense Attaché Maj. Gen. Aaron Drake along with key Israeli defense officials in attendance.
“The enduring strategic partnership … continues to secure Israel’s technological edge in air defense,” the statement said. Baram added that “joint production in Israel and the United States exemplifies the potential of our technological and industrial partnership — a collaboration the Israel Ministry of Defense is eager to expand across additional systems and domains.”
Along those lines, Rafael announced on Friday that its R2S joint venture with Raytheon has officially opened its new facility in Camden, Arkansas. Raytheon also announced that the facility has received a $1.25 billion deal to begin supplying Tamir interceptors to Israel for use on Iron Dome. Rafael did not specify if the $1.25 billion deal with R2S is part of the ministry’s procurement deal, however a spokesperson did note that part of the investment from Israel’s Ministry of Defense is going towards manufacturing Tamir interceptors in the US through R2S.
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Acting as the US prime, Raytheon is marketing Iron Dome as “SkyHunter” domestically, with hopes to win the US Marine Corps Medium-Range Intercept Capability (MRIC) program. But the facility was built with production for Israel or future foreign customers in mind.
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“The opening of this facility marks another meaningful step in strengthening the availability of proven air-defense capabilities for the United States and its partners,” said Yoav Tourgeman, the president and CEO of Rafael. He noted that the new facility provides a “robust American production base, ensuring that the Tamir and SkyHunter interceptors can be delivered efficiently and at scale
R2S Chief Executive Officer Jonathan Casey noted that this is “the first production contract for the R2S joint venture and a major milestone for both Raytheon and Rafael.” He added that “the new Camden site is the first all-up-round production facility in the US to manufacture Tamir and SkyHunter missiles.”
The Iron Dome air defense system is one the lower layer of Israel’s multi-layered air defense systems, with David’s Sling and Arrow as the middle and upper tier respectively. All the systems played a key role in Israel’s last two years of multi-front war which saw thousands of rockets and drones launched at Israel. The Iron Dome has also been systematically upgraded to deal with emerging threats.
At a Thursday briefing at JINSA on Israel’s 12-day conflict with Iran, retired US General Charles Wald, noted that “the Iron Dome, fortunately, was upgraded just prior to the attacks by Iran to be able to take on larger missiles.” As such, the system is even more relevant in is role, defending against short and medium range rockets and drones.