Military Watch:

Hezbollah Strikes Are Gradually Dismantling Israel’s Iron Dome Air Defence Network

Middle East , Missile and Space

Military Watch Magazine Editorial Staff

June-4th-2026

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Moments Before Hezbollah Drone Hits Iron Dome Battery (left) and Iron Dome Launch

The Lebanese paramilitary group Hezbollah has achieved significant successes in weakening the network of Israeli Iron Dome short range air defence systems through effective precision strikes on associated launchers and radars, marking one of a number of serious setbacks which Israel has faced in its invasion of Southern Lebanon. The Iron Dome network consisting of multiple radars, command systems, and surface-to-air missile launchers spread across Israel, which are particularly concentrated in the northern regions facing Hezbollah. The systems are optimised to shoot down short range attacks from rocket artillery, and drones. Although Hezbollah has on some occasions launched ballistic missiles against Israeli targets, which Israel’s David’s Sling system is responsible for shooting down, the largest majority of its arsenal is represented by the kind of assets the Iron Dome is optimised to neutralise. 

Launch of Surface-to-Air Interceptors From Iron Dome System

Hezbollah has during the month of May destroyed four or five units of Iron Dome systems, with reports varying. This represents an unsusaintable rate of losses for Israel, which fields an estimated 30 to 40 units. One means of targeting has been to use long range anti-tank missiles, which Hezbollah first did in 2024 using what is believed to be an Almas missile - an Iranian counterpart to the U.S. Javelin with similar non-line of sight targeting capabilities. A further means has been to use drones and loitering munitions, which have formed a modern reconnaissance-strike complex to destroy multiple Israeli targets both on Lebanese soil, and inside Israel. Drones can identify launcher and radar positions, while guided rockets, anti-tank missiles or loitering munitions can then be directed against those positions. Even if only a few launchers are damaged, this can force Israeli forces to relocate batteries, disperse assets, and devote additional resources to protecting the air-defence network itself.  

Although Hezbollah’s strikes have caused considerable setbacks for Israeli air defences, a greater challenge faced by the Israel Defence Forces is that saturation attacks using rocket systems can relatively easily overwhelm Iron Dome systems, with the cost of an interception by the system being well over an order of magnitude greater than that of a rocket launch. Thus even if Iron Dome remains intact and continues to achieve high interception rates, enough incoming threats could penetrate defences simply through volume. This is a primary reason why few countries have invested in air defence systems aimed at intercepting very low value munitions such as rocket artillery, as it is far more cost effective to seek and destroy hostile launchers on the ground. Hezbollah’s fortification of its launchers in a vast underground network of tunnels and bunkers, which was developed by North Korean specialists in the early 2000s, has prevented Israel from using its air power to neutralise its artillery.

Hezbollah Radwan Force Personnel

The destruction of components of the Iron Dome system may pave the way for Hezbollah to increase the targeting of higher value components of Israel’s multi-layered air defence network, most notably its David’s Sling and Barak systems, which have already been heavily depleted by Iranian ballistic missile attacks. Their destruction can potentially serve as a force multiplier for future Iranian strikes. Ihe Israeli Ministry of Defence in November 2025 finalised plans to expand serial production of the Iron Dome with a multi-billion-dollar contract with the defence manufacturer Rafael, following months of hostilities between Israeli and Hezbollah forces in 2024. This was reported be fully funded by an $8.7 billion aid package from the United States, which specifically allocated $5.2 billion dollars for air and missile defence systems. Iron Dome units in 2024 took losses to multiple successful strikes by Hezbollah, leaving it uncertain to what extent the network had been replenished by the time of the resumption of hostilities in March 2026.