What are Israel's air defences? And why are they so effective?

Israel has one of the world's best air defence systems. 

Overnight from Saturday to Sunday Iran fired more than 300 drones and missiles at Israel, which is already dealing with incoming aerial attacks from Gaza and Lebanon, but Israeli officials reported very little damage. 

Israel's air defence system is multi-layered, but its centrepiece is the Iron Dome. 

Using radar to detect and intercept short-range rockets, missiles and drones, the Iron Dome air defence system began operating in 2011. 

Long pushed by Israeli defence officials, it was finally initiated in response to the 2006 war that ended with Hamas taking control of Gaza the following year. 

The system is made of up a series of truck-towed mobile units scattered across the country in strategic locations. When a threat is detected, military personnel analyse it at a "battle management centre" manned 24 hours a day. They then decided which launcher to use to intercept. 

Secondary missiles are fired to ensure a threat is properly neutralised. 

Israel says it has a success rate of over 90%, destroying projectiles from a distance of 4 to 70 km away. Response times are in a matter of seconds. 

Israel developed it with US backing. Washington contributed $1.6 billion (€1.5 billion) to create the system between 2011 and 2021, while the US Congress approved another $1 billion (€940 million) in 2022.

In the early 1990s, Israel suggested the idea of developing a short-range anti-missile system, though US defence officials at the time said it would be doomed to fail. 

One weakness of the Iron Dome system is that it cannot protect more than 100 - 150 square km, limiting its effectiveness for larger countries. 

Even in Israel, a relatively small country, batteries have to be moved