“There are mistakes, like in any other technological system,” said the Chief of Staff of the IDF’s Air Defense Systems, Colonel L., when asked about the severe missile impact against Dimona and Arad, where over 100 people were injured.
Col. L spoke two days after the event alongside Major A., the head of the IDF's Systems Research Division, and they discussed the war, the systems Israel uses to protect the civilian population, and the need to adhere to the Home Front Command guidelines.
L. (42), has been an air defense systems officer (ADO) in the Air Force for about a year. He enlisted in the reserve, completed bachelor's and master's degrees in aeronautical engineering, and served as an engineer in the Air Force's technological headquarters.
At the beginning of the Israel-Hamas War, he served as an air armaments officer and was responsible for adapting the armaments mounted on each Air Force platform. During the 12-day war in June of 2025, he participated in the entire technical-operational investigation of the force he now commands, even while studying. This is his first position in Israel's air defense system.
Impacts in Dimona and Arad were unique events
"The air defense system consists of three different weapons systems," explained Col. L. "The connection between them is significant: It starts with detection - making sure that the radars are working, at what angle they should work, and where to deploy the additional radar. Then, making sure that each interception system brings its added value to hit the target.”
“We learned a lot about our systems in Operation 'Am Kelavi,' and we are constantly continuing to study and refine the systems and ourselves to understand the advantages of each such system separately and of their combination. Each system intercepts in its own layer of defense, and they talk to each other and transfer data in real time," he added.
"Our air defense system is the best in the world, but it is not hermetic. There are mistakes, there are malfunctions. In the end, these are technological systems, and no matter how advanced they are, they have limitations, they have success statistics, and there are places where we know they are not perfect. It is part of the job to investigate each incident and see how we learn from it and what we could have done differently so that it doesn't happen again."
"The incident in Arad is unique, and it is clear to us what happened there. As with each of the attacks, we are studying and making the relevant changes in operations and deployment. But such leaks can happen again; this is a long war. The number of launches is high, and it will not stop tomorrow morning, which is why it is so important to strictly follow the Home Front Command's instructions."
Can you say that you had blind spots there?
Col. L: "No, we're not talking about blind spots. It's such a complex technological system, which also incorporates people at the edge - they're very important for everything to work - and it's not perfect. We have the best air defense in the world and the best people in the world, but there may be leaks."
How do you feel when you watch the harsh images from the scenes of destruction?
Col. L: "It's a difficult feeling as a citizen of the country, on the one hand. On the other hand, you understand as a commander and also as a citizen that this is a long war, and that you have to think about how many targets you hit, how many civilians you saved, and from that understand that you must continue to fight. We know what we prevented in the end, when the civilians on the home front are defending themselves according to the instructions of the Home Front Command. We prevented hundreds of targets from being hit, missiles that were on their way to hit populated areas and national infrastructure."
Sometimes 8-10 minutes pass between the advance warning and the alarm, sometimes much less. Why does this happen?
Col. L: "Every event is different from the next, and it is not possible to give the home front a ten-minute warning in every case. Therefore, protection and adherence to instructions are very important in protecting the home front. There is no such thing as winning such a long war without a strong home front."
Is it time to change something in the government's budgetary management to provide better protection against cluster munitions?
Col. L.: "We are receiving all the resources required to win. We will make an effort from all parties, including the budget, procurement, and those who characterize the needs, to make this possible. "There is nothing here that we have not done to protect the citizens. This is not an incident involving a single weapons system. We also have technological solutions for cluster munitions. In the end, their relative damage is different from that of missiles like those that hit Arad and Dimona."
Is the Arrow 3 a possible solution to the cluster munitions?
Major A: "We will use the Arrow 3 in the current campaign as well. We make smart, precise use of all the systems as needed. We use them wisely, and they communicate with each other. This combination is intended to prevent misses, like what happened in Dimona and Arad, and also to create the best possible defense."
Daily routine during the war
"Most of the platoon sits in the air force bunker and works around the clock, in shifts," describes Col. L. "At any given moment, there are 25 people in the complex, engineers who have been trained for the job, and each of them has a specific role in analyzing each volley. The interrogation is happening all the time, even, by the way, when the interception is successful."
"There is information that comes down from the systems, data that we are ready and waiting for, and we analyze it against the data that has been defined as normal data. Each person knows what they need to look for, what they need to look at. And what we don't understand, we bring to the wider circle, which also works around the clock. Everything is examined both in terms of operations and technology."
"Beyond understanding what happened in each barrage and what to do to improve and fix it, we are also concerned with understanding how to preserve the detection and control systems so that they continue to work over time, and also with protecting the people and their sanity. Our people work hard on bases and in industries, wherever they can bring added value to the war," explains Colonel L.
How long does each such investigation last?
Col. L.: "We now know how to achieve rapid investigation. What took days in Operation 'With the Dog' now takes minutes. This is a significant leap forward that improves systems. Everyone has a role in this complete melody." Major A. adds: "We are gaining knowledge and understanding and developing the investigation tools so that we can do everything faster and have an impact on the next volley."
The IDF, notes Colonel L., operates various systems to detect threats, "In order to create a complete detection picture and train the defense system and the fighters in the batteries, and to ultimately achieve a successful interception."
What is defined as success?
Col. L: "Zero vulnerability in the State of Israel, in accordance with our defense policy."
Recently, an American website reported that the United States was informed that Israel's stock of ballistic missile interceptors was running low. As a civilian on the home front, I find this worrying.
Col. L: "There's nothing to worry about; we have all the means to protect civilians in a long war. We know how to create long-term protection. What's important is to make sure that the systems remain usable, and the people who ensure that are the people who work hard. We don't stop producing interceptors and deploying more systems. This is a combined effort by industry and the Air Force, and it continues around the clock."
In terms of air defense capabilities, how long can the war last?
Col. L: "As long as we need to, we have no limit."
What patterns did you identify in the missile firing from Iran? There was a feeling that they were more strategically aimed.
Major A: "We were able to identify a lot of things. We see different patterns of action and different systems that the red side (the enemy, GHQ) is using, and we are studying them and are prepared for such surprises. But in the end, this is war, and we don't know everything and can't know what the enemy is planning. I can assure you that you will have the best people on the edge at every minute."
"These officers, who work day and night to eliminate threats, do not see the end of the war on the horizon, but they certainly allow themselves to plan what they will do when it ends. A. mainly wants to "return to the family, go down to the amusement park with the girl, simply be together."
Col. L: "We were supposed to go skiing with the whole family in the second week of the war. When my son heard the first alarm, he realized there was no ski vacation. I promised him we would go together. The destination is not the problem; what we need is time."