First US-made Iron Dome interceptor completed at Arkansas plant

The first Iron Dome interceptor to be fully manufactured and assembled in the United States has been completed at a joint Rafael-Raytheon plant in Camden, Arkansas, Israel’s Defense Ministry announces.

The ministry’s Homa missile defense directorate receives the Tamir interceptor at a ceremony at the plant, operated by R2S, the joint venture between RTX’s Raytheon and Rafael Advanced Defense Systems.

The US has supplied components for Tamir production for years, but Camden is the first site outside Israel to manufacture complete interceptors, which will be shipped to Israel for operational use.

The plant will also manufacture SkyHunter, the US version of the Tamir, for the Marine Corps’ Medium-Range Intercept Capability (MRIC) air defense system.

“The new production line in the US is a significant addition to the shared production capabilities of Israel and the United States,” says Moshe Patel, head of the Homa directorate. He says the facility was part of the ministry’s effort to accelerate interceptor production across Israel’s air defense systems.

“US aid to Israel, some of which is reinvested in the American industry, strengthens the two countries’ shared industrial base, deepens the partnership between the [Missile Defense Agency] and the US administration, and enhances Israel and the US’s ability to protect their citizens’ lives,” Patel adds.

The Iron Dome system has carried out more than 10,000 successful interceptions during its 15 years of operation, the ministry says.