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Israeli missile defense at risk of collapse in coming days: WashPo

• ByAl Mayadeen English
• Source: The Washington Post
• 18 Jun 2025 https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/israeli-missile-defense-at-risk-of-collapse-in-coming-days

A Washington Post report reveals that “Israel’s” missile defense could fail within days under sustained Iranian attacks, as costs skyrocket and interceptor supplies dwindle.

A long war of attrition between “Israel” and Iran may not be sustainable for Tel Aviv, according to a new report by The Washington Post, which highlights mounting costs and dwindling interceptor supplies as critical vulnerabilities in “Israel’s” air defense network.

The report, published Monday, cites assessments from US and Israeli intelligence officials indicating that without urgent resupply or direct US military intervention, “Israel” may only be able to sustain its current level of missile defense for another 10 to 12 days.

“They will need to select what they want to intercept,” one source briefed on the matter said. “The system is already overwhelmed.”

The Post’s analysis aligns with recent warnings by military-focused open-source intelligence (OSINT) account @METT_Project, which projected that Iran’s sustained ballistic missile salvos could begin heavily breaching “Israel’s” multi-layered missile shield around Day 18 of the war. That projection, based on interceptor usage rates and known inventories, suggested that daily missile penetrations would increase significantly as the Israeli grid begins to ration munitions and prioritize critical zones.

Read more: Analysis finds Israeli missile defenses may crumble by day 18 of war

High cost of BMD necessitates quick end to war

The economic strain of defending against Iran’s heavy missile barrages is also becoming untenable. According to The Marker, an Israeli financial outlet, the cost of operating missile defense systems has soared to approximately one billion shekels per night, about $285 million. “Israel’s” reliance on high-end systems like the Arrow-2 and Arrow-3, whose interceptors cost roughly $3 million apiece, has raised alarms over the sustainability of its current escalation.

High cost of BMD necessitates quick end to war

The economic strain of defending against Iran’s heavy missile barrages is also becoming untenable. According to The Marker, an Israeli financial outlet, the cost of operating missile defense systems has soared to approximately one billion shekels per night, about $285 million. “Israel’s” reliance on high-end systems like the Arrow-2 and Arrow-3, whose interceptors cost roughly $3 million apiece, has raised alarms over the sustainability of its current escalation.“It’s like shooting a 9-millimeter pistol at a freight train,” said Israeli strategic analyst Efraim Inbar, describing the mismatch between cheaper, widely deployed Iron Dome interceptors and the supersonic ballistic missiles used by Iran. While Iron Dome is optimized for short-range rocket threats, such as those from Gaza, it is virtually ineffective against long-range Iranian missiles that travel through the upper atmosphere.

The Washington Post report adds that US officials are closely monitoring the pace of Iran’s strikes and the strain on Israeli systems. As Iranian salvos continue, Israeli commanders are increasingly forced to make difficult decisions about which targets to protect, a scenario that could soon expose strategic infrastructure and population centers to successful hits.

Read more: Iran’s heavy barrages impact multiple Israeli targets overnight

June 21, 2025 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | Israel, weapons and war