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GCC radars are needed for early warning, not only fire control. the evidence is Alert system may not even work for missiles, or give very short warning (second

GCC radars are needed for early warning, not only fire control. the evidence is Alert system may not even work for missiles, or give very short warning (seconds to 1 minute instead of the usual 10 minutes) https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/israel-security/2026-03-07/ty-article/.premium/short-notice-rocket-alerts-are-due-to-operational-considerations-idf-says/0000019c-c7c8-d2c4-afde-f7cea4f60000 https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/israel-security/2026-03-... If we are speaking of interception/penetration, these are also solved by Iran using several strategies that Israel/CENTCOM did not expect: 1. use of cluster munitions 2. exhaustion of expensive interceptor inventory (exchanging $7000 shahed drone for $3-5 mln worth of PAC-3 interceptors) 3. Use of penetration aids 4. Changing trajectory at the terminal stage 5. coordinating swarm attacks (let AD to intercept SRBMs, while the real damage is caused by abundant cheap Shaheds that fly too slow and low to be detected) Sources: https://en.defence-ua.com/news/russia_likely_modified_iranian_ballistic_missiles_to_evade_patriot_air_defense_systems-17734.html https://en.defence-ua.com/news/russia_likely_modified_irania... https://www.csis.org/analysis/unpacking-irans-drone-campaign-gulf-early-lessons-future-drone-warfare https://www.csis.org/analysis/unpacking-irans-drone-campaign... https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/mar/23/iran-cluster-bombs-bypassing-israel-air-defences https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/mar/23/iran-cluster-b...

trhway 7mo ago
>Israel/CENTCOM did not expect that after 4 years of Ukraine war where those tactics have been widely used, in some cases by both sides, and where Russia has even been using the same Iranian drones
- gmerc 7mo ago
  Well, October 7 clearly was unexpected too, so these guys unexpect a lot
  - testbjjl 7mo ago
    There is considerable evidence that it was not unexpected.
    - cthalupa 7mo ago
      I believe that was the point being made.
  - verdverm 7mo ago
    It might be more of a selective listening issue
reissbaker 7mo ago
Both you and the Guardian are confused (or perhaps the Guardian is just trying to ride the popular understanding of the "Iron Dome" as a super catch all missile defense system vs reality). The Iron Dome has nothing to do with shooting down ballistic missiles. The Iron Dome isn't designed to target ballistic missiles: it targets short-range rockets and artillery like the ones fired by Hamas and Hezbollah, and has been modified to also target slow-moving drones (although the Iron Beam is intended to be the main drone defense system in the future). The Iranian missiles are targeted by different systems: David's Sling and the Arrow 2 and 3. The Iron Dome does not depend on the American radar system in Qatar that Iran hit. It would be crazy for it to do so when it only targets short range attacks. If someone is telling you that the "Iron Dome is blind" because an American radar in Qatar got hit by a missile, you should probably update the amount you trust that source negatively, since not only is that not true, but it doesn't even pass the sniff test to anyone who knows what the Iron Dome is. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iron_Dome https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iron_Dome https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David%27s_Sling https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David%27s_Sling https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arrow_3 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arrow_3
- bijowo1676 7mo ago
  you are arguing semantics, both me and Guardian using the term "iron dome" as a collective of all air defense systems in Israel (not that one system built to counter cheap rockets), because all these systems are integrated into one military network, including the GCC/CENTCOM radars that were destroyed. if you replace "iron dome" with "air defense network" everything else would still be true
  - reissbaker 7mo ago
    The problem is you do not understand how these systems work and are making claims that don't pass the sniff test to anyone who does know how these work. For example, you claim multiple times that Shahed drones have somehow exacerbated these Iron Dome missile interceptor issues, and now claim you're not talking about the literal Iron Dome — you're talking about who knows what (you don't specify any actual, concrete system and instead use a metaphorical understanding from the popular press). The problem is: actually, the literal, real Iron Dome does target Shaheds! So if it's the radar system that was the problem and caused the metaphorical Iron Dome to be "blind" — why did drones matter, if those are targeted by the literal Iron Dome that doesn't use that radar? Are you meaning to talk about David's Sling, which targets missiles and drones? But David's Sling is a medium range system that doesn't use the American radar in Qatar either! Arrow 3? Guess what — it has nothing to do with Shaheds, and has nothing to do with the American radar system either — it uses an IAI radar system. The Iranian hit on the American radar in Qatar hasn't left the "Iron Dome" blind, figuratively or literally, and your proposed mechanisms of actions don't make sense.

trhway 7mo ago

>Israel/CENTCOM did not expect that after 4 years of Ukraine war where those tactics have been widely used, in some cases by both sides, and where Russia has even been using the same Iranian drones

gmerc 7mo ago
Well, October 7 clearly was unexpected too, so these guys unexpect a lot
- testbjjl 7mo ago
  There is considerable evidence that it was not unexpected.
  - cthalupa 7mo ago
    I believe that was the point being made.
- verdverm 7mo ago
  It might be more of a selective listening issue

reissbaker 7mo ago

Both you and the Guardian are confused (or perhaps the Guardian is just trying to ride the popular understanding of the "Iron Dome" as a super catch all missile defense system vs reality). The Iron Dome has nothing to do with shooting down ballistic missiles. The Iron Dome isn't designed to target ballistic missiles: it targets short-range rockets and artillery like the ones fired by Hamas and Hezbollah, and has been modified to also target slow-moving drones (although the Iron Beam is intended to be the main drone defense system in the future). The Iranian missiles are targeted by different systems: David's Sling and the Arrow 2 and 3. The Iron Dome does not depend on the American radar system in Qatar that Iran hit. It would be crazy for it to do so when it only targets short range attacks. If someone is telling you that the "Iron Dome is blind" because an American radar in Qatar got hit by a missile, you should probably update the amount you trust that source negatively, since not only is that not true, but it doesn't even pass the sniff test to anyone who knows what the Iron Dome is. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iron_Dome https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iron_Dome https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David%27s_Sling https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David%27s_Sling https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arrow_3 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arrow_3

bijowo1676 7mo ago
you are arguing semantics, both me and Guardian using the term "iron dome" as a collective of all air defense systems in Israel (not that one system built to counter cheap rockets), because all these systems are integrated into one military network, including the GCC/CENTCOM radars that were destroyed. if you replace "iron dome" with "air defense network" everything else would still be true
- reissbaker 7mo ago
  The problem is you do not understand how these systems work and are making claims that don't pass the sniff test to anyone who does know how these work. For example, you claim multiple times that Shahed drones have somehow exacerbated these Iron Dome missile interceptor issues, and now claim you're not talking about the literal Iron Dome — you're talking about who knows what (you don't specify any actual, concrete system and instead use a metaphorical understanding from the popular press). The problem is: actually, the literal, real Iron Dome does target Shaheds! So if it's the radar system that was the problem and caused the metaphorical Iron Dome to be "blind" — why did drones matter, if those are targeted by the literal Iron Dome that doesn't use that radar? Are you meaning to talk about David's Sling, which targets missiles and drones? But David's Sling is a medium range system that doesn't use the American radar in Qatar either! Arrow 3? Guess what — it has nothing to do with Shaheds, and has nothing to do with the American radar system either — it uses an IAI radar system. The Iranian hit on the American radar in Qatar hasn't left the "Iron Dome" blind, figuratively or literally, and your proposed mechanisms of actions don't make sense.