What does the Iron Dome do?
The Iron Dome is an air-defense system designed to intercept rockets and artillery shells with ranges of up to 44 miles. Developed by Rafael Advanced Defense Systems and Elta Systems, the Iron Dome is comprised of a battery, radar, and a command and control system. Each battery has three launchers that carry 20 interceptor missiles each for a total of 60 missiles per battery.
What makes Iron Dome so useful is its technical capability to track the trajectory of each incoming rocket or artillery shell and determine if it is heading towards an urban area. Only if the incoming munition is going to strike a city or village will the Iron Dome attempt to intercept it.