Mini Iron Dome To Be Installed On All Cars To Intercept Rocks, Firebombs

Trophy will handle multiple threats at the same time, allowing drivers to concentrate of driving instead of avoiding Palestinian rocks and bombs.

Tel Aviv, April 30 – Continued targeting of Israeli cars by Palestinians on the roads of Judea and Samaria and in parts of Jerusalem with rocks and Molotov cocktails has prompted the Ministries of Defense and Internal Security to mandate the installation of an automated countermeasure system on all Israeli vehicles to shoot down incoming projectiles.

Multiple daily incidents along the arteries connecting Jewish communities in the heartland of the country involving Palestinian youths lobbing firebombs and stones at cars have led Israeli officials to require that all civilian passenger vehicles be equipped with the Trophy system, an anti-projectile device that until now has been reserved for military combat vehicles.

Minister of Defense Avigdor Liberman and Minister of Internal Security Gilad Erdan signed the order this morning, under which all new passenger cars in Israel must come equipped with Trophy, and all cars already on the road will have the system installed. Under the new measure, all civilian passenger vehicles in Israel will have Trophy operational by 2022.

The measure calls for the establishment of installation centers across the country, with technical staff trained by Refael, the weapons development authority. In addition to the dedicated facilities, certified mechanics at existing garages and dealerships will undergo training to conduct installation and repairs at their sites. Priority will be given to residents of communities where rock-throwing and firebombs often threaten travelers.

Trophy operates by means of radar to detect incoming projectiles, and fires a tight burst of pellets to neutralize any whose calculated area of impact will intersect with the vehicle. A larger-scale version of the system has seen a successful tour of duty on IDF tanks, notably during Operation Protective Edge in 2014 when Trophy intercepted numerous anti-tank missiles, rocket-propelled grenades, and other threats, resulting in zero enemy hits to the vehicles.

In the civilian version, the burst of pellets carries an even tighter spread, as it operates only within throwing range of rocks and Molotov cocktails. As with the military version, Trophy will handle multiple threats at the same time, allowing drivers to concentrate of driving instead of avoiding Palestinian rocks and bombs, thus facilitating a quicker transition through the danger zone. When a threat is detected, a separate function of the system alerts security forces to the location of the source of the projectile, enabling them to respond with whatever means necessary to eliminate or contain the threat.

Residents of the affected roadways voiced relief at the announcement, but worried that bureaucratic delays will hamper timely installation of Trophy in all necessary vehicles. “Those of us who carry guns are only allowed to fire fifty rounds in our lives,” explained Zach Fruchter, a resident of Efrata, south of Jerusalem. “Trophy will make it less necessary to get out of the car and fire in the air or at assailants, keeping us safer. But who knows how long this program will take to get off the ground, and how many lives are at risk in the meantime?”

Palestinian representatives denounced the policy, accusing Israel of suppressing legitimate expressions of nonviolent resistance to occupation.

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