Israel deployed its C-Dome, a ship-based defense system, for the first time against “suspicious” aerial targets that violated the country’s airspace near the southern city of Eilat, a military source said Tuesday.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) raised the alert on Monday evening around Eilat, where ballistic missile fire earlier targeted Yemen’s Houthi rebels, an ally of the Palestinian militia.
“In response to hostile aircraft sirens in the Eilat area, the IDF Navy quickly identified suspicious aerial targets in Israeli territory,” an IDF spokesman said in a statement released Tuesday morning.
The statement said the target was successfully neutralized by the C-Dome naval defense system, marking the use of the system.
Although the IDF has not yet confirmed the nature of the alleged target, there is speculation that it could be a drone strike.
The C-Dome, mounted on a German-made Sa’ar-class 6 corvette warship, shares interface technology with the popular Iron Dome air defense system, known for its effectiveness in intercepting rocket threats from the Hamas-run Gaza Strip.
Although the interception was successful, no injuries or damages were reported in the incident, demonstrating the effectiveness of the defense capabilities of the Israeli navy.
That defense system is about $50,000 per startup.
