Israel retires last Patriots

IAF personnel stand in front of Patriot launchers, probably at the air-defence site southeast of Dimona. (Israeli Air Force)

Israel has phased out its Patriot air-defence batteries by re-equipping the last unit that operated the US-made system with the locally made Iron Dome, Janes has confirmed.

The Israeli Air Force (IAF) revealed on 26 September that Battalion 138, which was responsible for the Patriots, is now operating an Iron Dome system protecting the southern port city of Eilat.

Janes has learnt that the decision to decommission the US-made Patriots was finalised during the intense combat of the last two years due to a desire to replace the last foreign air-defence system with an Israeli one that is being rapidly upgraded in response to evolving threats. Iron Dome is now considered to be a different system from what it was before the start of the war due to this race against adaptive enemies that try to identify and exploit any weakness.

Battalion 138 consequently went through a complex process where it was re-equipped and retrained to operate Iron Dome without degrading operational readiness, which is considered a major success within the Israeli defence establishment.

While the battalion maintained its Patriots at constant readiness before the war, it rarely made operational interceptions. The unit is now far more active and has used the mobility of Iron Dome to help defend against heavy projectile fire from Lebanon and attacks from the Gaza Strip, as well as defend Eilat from unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) launched from Yemen.