[News] Israeli missile defense at risk of collapse in coming days

[Anti-Imperialist News]

english.almayadeen.net
<https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/israeli-missile-defense-at-risk-of-collapse-in-coming-days>
Israeli missile defense at risk of collapse in coming days: WaPo
Al Mayadeen English
June 18, 2025
------------------------------

A Washington Post report reveals that "Israel’s" missile defense could fail
within days under sustained Iranian attacks, as costs skyrocket and
interceptor supplies dwindle.

   - [image: Israeli missile defense at risk of collapse in coming days:
   WaPo]
   <https://alpha-en-media.almayadeen.net/media/image/2025/6/18/449b6b6d-d2e0-45eb-b9bf-316f86f80d2d.jpg?width=1000>
   Israeli occupation soldiers demonstrate the operation of the Arrow air
   defense system at the Palmachim base on the coast of occupied Palestine, on
   November 7, 2002. *(AP)*

A long war of attrition between "Israel" and Iran may not be sustainable
for Tel Aviv, according to a new report by *The Washington Post*, which
highlights mounting costs and dwindling interceptor supplies as critical
vulnerabilities in "Israel’s" air defense network.

The report, published Monday, cites assessments from US and Israeli
intelligence officials indicating that without urgent resupply or direct US
military intervention, "Israel" may only be able to sustain its current
level of missile defense for another 10 to 12 days.

“They will need to select what they want to intercept,” one source briefed
on the matter said. “The system is already overwhelmed.”

*The Post*’s analysis aligns with recent warnings by military-focused
open-source intelligence (OSINT) account @METT_Project
<https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/analysis-finds-israeli-missile-defenses-may-crumble-by-day-1>,
which projected that Iran’s sustained ballistic missile salvos could begin
heavily breaching "Israel’s" multi-layered missile shield around Day 18 of
the war. That projection, based on interceptor usage rates and known
inventories, suggested that daily missile penetrations would increase
significantly as the Israeli grid begins to ration munitions and prioritize
critical zones.

*Read more: Analysis finds Israeli missile defenses may crumble by day 18
of war
<https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/analysis-finds-israeli-missile-defenses-may-crumble-by-day-1>*
High cost of BMD necessitates quick end to war

The economic strain of defending against Iran’s heavy missile barrages is
also becoming untenable. According to *The Marker*, an Israeli financial
outlet, the cost of operating missile defense systems has soared to
approximately one billion shekels—about $285 million—per night. "Israel’s"
reliance on high-end systems like the Arrow-2 and Arrow-3, whose
interceptors cost roughly $3 million apiece, has raised alarms over the
sustainability of its current escalation.
Why can't the Iron Dome defend against Iran's missiles?

The Israeli layered air defense system consists of several high-performance
missiles, such as the Arrow line of interceptors and the David's Sling
missiles, as well as cheaper Iron Dome/Tamir missiles optimized for taking
down rocket artillery.

A sign of strain on air defense capabilities appeared on Tuesday morning as
an attempt to thwart an Iranian attack on a site belonging to the Israeli
Military Intelligence Directorate (Aman) failed. In this exchange, Tamir
interceptors were launched at the incoming missiles as a last ditch attempt
to prevent a direct hit on Aman assets.

“It’s like shooting a 9-millimeter pistol at a freight train,” said Israeli
strategic analyst Efraim Inbar, describing the mismatch between cheaper,
widely deployed Iron Dome interceptors and the supersonic ballistic
missiles used by Iran. While Iron Dome is optimized for short-range rocket
threats, such as those from Gaza, it is virtually ineffective against
long-range Iranian missiles that travel through the upper atmosphere.

*The Washington Post* report adds that US officials are closely monitoring
the pace of Iran’s strikes and the strain on Israeli systems. As Iranian
salvos continue, Israeli commanders are increasingly forced to make
difficult decisions about which targets to protect, a scenario that could
soon expose strategic infrastructure and population centers to successful
hits.

*Read more: Iran's heavy barrages impact multiple Israeli targets overnight
<https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/iran-s-heavy-barrages-impact-multiple-israeli-targets-overni>*
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