Israel hails successful deployment of C-Dome missile defence at sea
Tel Aviv, 9 April 2024 (dpa/MIA) - The Israeli army says it has successfully intercepted an enemy missile for the first time using a naval version of the Iron Dome missile defence system.
The system, known as C-Dome, intercepted an unmanned aerial vehicle from a corvette, which had come from the east and entered the Gulf of Aqaba region, where the Israeli coastal town of Eilat is located.
Israeli troops in the area co-operated with the air force and the crew of the corvette in the night-time operation, the statement from Tuesday said.
Since the beginning of the Gaza war six months ago, various missile ships, including the Sa'ar 6-class corvettes, have been positioned in the Red Sea.
In recent years, the Israeli navy has been equipped with ships from Germany, including four Sa'ar 6-class corvettes ordered from ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems (TKMS). The last of the approximately 90-metre-long and 13-metre-wide ships arrived in Haifa in 2021.
Israel is equipping the corvettes itself with radar and weapon systems.
Germany has also supplied Israel with submarines. These exports to Israel are controversial because, according to experts, they could be equipped with nuclear weapons.
The pro-Iranian group Islamic Resistance in Iraq claimed responsibility for attacks on two Israeli targets on Tuesday. It is a kind of umbrella group for pro-Iranian militias in Iraq, which have been operating together under this general name since the terrorist attacks by the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas in Israel on October 7.
The Houthi militia, which operates from Yemen, has also carried out dozens of attacks on Israel since the start of the war. The militia wants to force an end to Israel's military operations in the Gaza Strip.
Iran had announced a retaliatory strike following suspected Israeli airstrikes on a building belonging to its embassy in the Syrian capital Damascus.
"The Israeli Navy is deployed in the Red Sea and has both the defensive and offensive capabilities to confront regional threats," the Israeli army said in a statement.
Photo: IDF
