The Israel Defense Forces have three main ways to take out an incoming missile
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The Iron Dome is the first tier of aerial defense designed to take out mortars and short range rockets incoming from the Gaza territories
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The Patriot missile system, acquired from the United States, is designed to intercept aircraft and incoming medium range missiles.
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The Arrow Anti-Ballistic missile defense system is designed to take out incoming long range ballistic missiles. It's capable of destroying the missiles when they're outside the atmosphere.
The Iron Dome is made up of a tracking radar, a command console and a missile launcher. It is designed to take out those Qassam improvised rockets.
The Iron Dome is largely successful because the IDF prioritizes incoming missiles. If a Qassam missile is poised to land in an uninhabited region, the IDF would instead target a missile poised to strike a populated city.
The system has been very effective at minimizing the domestic impact of the Qassam missile. Iron Dome went from conceptualization to reality in four short years, nearly unprecedented for a defense project. The U.S. has provided funding and support.
Even though it was designed in the sixties, the Patriot system is still decades ahead of the incoming missile's tech
The United States first deployed the Patriot missile defense system in 1984. It's made up of a stationary launcher that can hold four missiles and a command and control center that implements the missiles. The scanning radar enables the system to identify, target, and take out incoming aircraft or medium range missiles.
Since the initial deployment, a large number of upgrades have been added into the system to keep it modern.
Still, given that the Patriot systems would be hypothetically aimed for incoming F-14 Tomcats or ex-Soviet ballistic missiles, the Reagan-era tech should be more than capable of overcoming the most devastating parts of the retro-assault.
The Arrow Missile System can take out those long range threats from a hypothetical Iranian bombardment
The Arrow missile system has been operational since 2000. The United States and Israel developed the air defense system together, and it remains Israel's primary long range air defense system.
The system has demonstrated that it can take out a ballistic missile when it is outside the atmosphere. While the Iron Dome has mostly seen deployment in the south of Israel to defend from the most consistent short range rocket threat, the Arrow system is being deployed in the center of the country to maximize aerial protection.
It is manufactured by Israel Aerospace Industries and Boeing.
David's Sling, when complete, will complement the Iron Dome system by hitting medium sized threats
The David's Sling missile is being jointly developed by the Israeli contractor Rafael Advanced Defense Systems and American contractor Raytheon.
The missile is designed to intercept medium to long range rockets and some cruise missiles, and in general to aid the Iron Dome in defending Israeli air space.
The idea is that David's Sling would take care of rockets and cruise missile that exceed the speed and range of the Iron Dome system but are too small to warrant the use of the Arrow system. It's currently being tested before full integration.
It's worth noting that there is a small but important American military presence in Israel
The only foreign troops stationed in Israel are a force of Americans manning a Terminal High Altitude Air Defense (THAAD) X-band radar system on Mt. Keren in the Negev desert.
What does this mean? Well, the THAAD system is one of the best aerial defense systems in the world. If anything goes into the air in the region, Americans will know about it before anyone else, even the Israelis.
This — as well as multiple aircraft carriers and destroyers already placed in the Persian Gulf and Mediterranean — could give Israel the extra firepower it needs to deter and retaliate against an attack.
That's how Israel would defend its skies
