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Pentagon’s Iron Dome buy raises questions on US troop protection

The Pentagon has agreed to acquire Israel’s Iron Dome to intercept cruise missiles, but experts are questioning whether the system can effectively defend US troops.
An Israeli man looks on as an Iron Dome launcher fires an interceptor rocket in the southern Israeli city of Ashkelon July 14, 2018  REUTERS/Amir Cohen - RC1E436675A0

The Pentagon’s decision to acquire Israel’s US-funded Iron Dome system to defend American troops is raising questions from military experts about whether the missile defense batteries can handle emerging threats from Russia and China.

Inside Defense first reported the Army’s decision to acquire Iron Dome earlier this month. The move comes after Congress, which has long praised the system’s decadelong record of fending off rockets and mortar attacks, called on the Pentagon to take steps to obtain defenses to stop increasingly capable cruise missiles from Russia and China that could threaten US forces deployed overseas.

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