Iron Dome is an Israeli mobile all-weather air defense system developed by Rafael Advanced Defense Systems and Israel Aerospace Industries. It is designed to intercept and destroy short-range rockets and artillery shells fired from distances of 4 kilometers (2.5 miles) to 70 kilometers (43 miles) away and whose trajectory would take them to an Israeli populated area. The system is a network of radar detectors and missile launchers that work together to intercept incoming rockets. The Iron Dome uses radar to track incoming rockets and can determine whether the missiles trajectory poses a threat to a protected area, such as a strategically important site or populated center. If the rocket does pose a threat, a command and control center can respond by launching its own Tamir missile to intercept it. The system is not configured to fire on rockets outside of a protected area, meaning these are ignored and left to land harmlessly elsewhere. The Iron Dome was first deployed in 2011 and has been under constant redevelopment since its inception in the early 2000s. The system is highly effective and has saved many Israeli lives during conflicts with Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorists. The US has also purchased two Iron Dome systems of its own, and 55% of the system’s components are currently manufactured in the US.