C- Dome will be a breakthrough in naval defense

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The adaptation of the Iron Dome technology is aimed at developing a very innovative defense systems for navy vessels. The goal is to duplicate the operational success of the Iron Dome rocket interceptor at sea.

During last summer’s “Protective Edge” operation in Gaza, Hamas launched thousands of rockets into Israeli territory. The Iron Dome system, developed by an Israeli company, Rafael, has succeeded in intercepting about 90 % of the ones that had a “kill Trajectory”.

Now, Rafael is using the same technology in order to develop a system that will protect ships from rockets and other aerial threats. According to the Israeli company, the C-Dome Naval Point Defense System is designed to effectively protect combat vessels against a large variety of modern threats.

C-Dome is designed to handle saturation attacks by engaging multiple targets simultaneously. Reaction time will be very short and will enable automatic and semi-automatic engagements.

The C-Dome system’s components include a multi-round launcher assembly loaded with vertically-launched interceptors from canisters. The launcher is installed under the ship deck.
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In order to allow easy installation, Rafael designed the system so that it will utilize the ship’s own surveillance radar. The system’s weapon system command and control is also designed to being seamlessly integrated with the ship’s combat management system, thereby facilitating system operation.

The C-Dome will use the combat-proven Iron Dome interceptor. It has already achieved more than 1200 successful interceptions with 90 % kill rate.

Rafael says that the Interceptors, which are stored in a sea-proof canister, are maintenance-free. Up to 10 interceptors can be loaded into a modular Vertical Launcher Unit. The interceptors are vertically launched with unrestricted 360° azimuth coverage. The highly advanced warhead ensures high kill probability against a wide range of targets.

According to Rafael, the C-Dome interceptor is extremely agile. It features a high rate-of-turn, thereby enabling intercepting of even the most maneuverable targets. Its state-of-the-art proximity fuse maximizes lethality, and its powerful warhead ensures target destruction. The C-Dome system has a small footprint, so it can be integrated on small ships, including Off Shore Patrol Vessels (OPVs) and small Corvettes.