Brown Students Demanded Divestiture From Raytheon, Technology Saved Thousands of Israeli Lives

Brown Students Demanded Divestiture From Raytheon, Technology Saved Thousands of Israeli Lives

Dozens of Brown University students went on a hunger strike in January and early February in an effort to force the school to divest investments tied to military contractors, including Raytheon.

Students at Brown called for the university to "divest from genocide." Other protest targets were Textron and Boeing.

Raytheon, which has a significant facility in Portsmouth, Rhode Island, is the architect of the technology that supports the Israeli defense system, the so-called Iron Dome.

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That defense system, in conjunction with U.S. operations, is credited with destroying 99% of the hundreds of drones and missiles launched by Iran and by the Hezbolauh located in southern Lebanon on Saturday, targeting Israeli targets -- believed to be both civilian and military.

The Iron Dome is responsible for saving thousands or tens of thousands of Israeli lives, according to experts.

 

Raytheon on Record

The defense contractor describes its technology and partnerships as the following. 

Short-range air defense

Raytheon teams with Rafael Advanced Defense Systems to defend populated areas and critical assets with the Iron Dome Weapon System. It's the world’s most-used system, intercepting more than 1,500 incoming targets with a success rate exceeding 90 percent since being fielded in 2011.

All-weather

Iron Dome detects, assesses and intercepts a variety of shorter-range targets such as rockets, artillery and mortars. It is effective day or night and in all weather conditions including low clouds, rain, dust storms and fog. It features a first-of-its-kind multi-mission launcher designed to fire a variety of interceptor missiles.

Iron Dome’s Tamir missile knocks down incoming threats launched from ranges of 4-70 km. Tamir missiles feature electro-optical sensors and steering fins with proximity fuze blast warheads. The majority of Tamir missile components are procured through the Raytheon supply chain in the United States.

Israeli Partnership

Ten Iron Dome batteries protect the citizens and infrastructure of Israel, with each battery comprising three to four stationary launchers, 20 Tamir missiles and a battlefield radar. Each of the batteries can defend up to nearly 60 square miles, and are strategically placed around cities to intercept threats headed toward populated areas.

The intelligent Iron Dome system ignores incoming threats it determines will land in uninhabited areas, thereby minimizing unnecessary defensive launches and lowering operation costs.