World
How Missile Defense Works (and Why It Fails)
Once a
The target,
In April and October, Iran launched two of the largest ballistic missile attacks in history at Israel. The world’s most advanced missile defense systems, deployed by Israel and the United States, stopped some of the missiles — but not all of them.
Neither attack caused major damage, but some Israeli and American officials said it may have been a matter of luck that it was not worse. After Israel struck back at Iran last week, Iranian officials threatened another round of retaliation, although their plans remain unclear.
Here’s why stopping a ballistic missile attack is hard.
Ballistic missiles like the ones Iran fired last month escape the atmosphere and accelerate to great speeds as they fall back down to Earth. It took only about 12 minutes for Iran’s missiles to reach Israel, analysts estimate. But there was far less time to make critical decisions about how to stop them.
Within seconds,
A defensive missile called
That’s all hard enough with one missile. But Iran fired
Radars can only track so many targets at once, and launchers, once emptied, may need a half hour or more to reload.
Beyond that, if they are concerned about future attacks, targeted countries may also need to make a critical split-second decision to
After Iran’s second barrage, in October, Israel said its defense systems had shot down many of the missiles, and those that struck appear to have caused limited damage.
But satellite imagery does show that the barrage, which analysts said used more advanced missiles, left dozens of craters at one air base, Nevatim. Had those missiles landed in a populated area, the death and destruction could have been extensive.
Israel’s best-known defense system, the Iron Dome, was built to stop short-range rockets, and is too slow and limited when it comes to ballistic missiles. For that, Israel relies on several more advanced layers of defense designed to counter ballistic missiles at different stages of flight.
The most advanced systems, long-range interceptors like the Arrow 3, operate in space, where ballistic missiles like those Iran fired spend most of their time. They are the first chance to stop a missile, but high above the atmosphere, there is no room for error.
Both an The interceptor seeks That’s because missiles like Iran’s latest are only about If that weren’t hard enough, some ballistic missiles carry
It’s unclear how often interceptions above the atmosphere actually work. Governments tend to avoid disclosing specific interception rates, and they have every reason to present a positive picture, even when interceptions fail. So do the companies that manufacture the pricey systems.
When combined with U.S. antimissile systems in the region, Israel currently has the most layers of missile defense in the world. If outer-layer defenses fail to stop a missile, shorter-range systems that intercept missiles closer to the ground may have another chance.
But time runs out quickly. The closer a ballistic missile gets, the more dangerous it becomes. And even if a lower-altitude intercept is successful, the resulting debris can still be deadly.
If a missile succeeds in re-entering the atmosphere, often less than a minute remains before it strikes. Defenses that work As the missile nears the ground, An attacker can draw on a variety of tactics. To distract the enemy, it can fire a volley of cheaper
Israel’s retaliatory strike at Iran last week targeted missile production sites and degraded Iran’s ability to produce the kind of missiles it fired in October. The attack damaged at least one rocket production facility, as well as fuel mixers that make propellant for Iran’s missile fleet.
It is unclear how Iran will respond or whether it will fire another round of ballistic missiles, but if it does, the fundamental imbalance of missile warfare will remain: Firing a ballistic missile is a lot easier than stopping one. And making a ballistic missile is cheaper and faster than making an interceptor to shoot one down.
Over the course of a protracted conflict, it could become a question of which side runs out of missiles first.
NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. flu infections showed signs of a slight decline last week, but health officials say it is not clear that this severe flu season has peaked.
New government data posted Friday — for flu activity through last week — showed declines in medical office visits due to flu-like illness and in the number of states reporting high flu activity.
However, some measures show this season is already surpassing the flu epidemic of last winter, one of the harshest in recent history. And experts believe there is more suffering ahead.
“This is going to be a long, hard flu season,” New York State Health Commissioner Dr. James McDonald said, in a statement Friday.
One type of flu virus, called A H3N2, historically has caused the most hospitalizations and deaths in older people. So far this season, that is the type most frequently reported. Even more concerning, more than 91% of the H3N2 infections analyzed were a new version — known as the subclade K variant — that differs from the strain in this year’s flu shots.
The last flu season saw the highest overall flu hospitalization rate since the H1N1 flu pandemic 15 years ago. And child flu deaths reached 289, the worst recorded for any U.S. flu season this century — including that H1N1 “swine flu” pandemic of 2009-2010.
So far this season, there have been at least 15 million flu illnesses and 180,000 hospitalizations, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates. It also estimates there have been 7,400 deaths, including the deaths of at least 17 children.
Last week, 44 states reported high flu activity, down slightly from the week before. However, flu deaths and hospitalizations rose.
Determining exactly how flu season is going can be particularly tricky around the holidays. Schools are closed, and many people are traveling. Some people may be less likely to see a doctor, deciding to just suffer at home. Others may be more likely to go.
Also, some seasons see a surge in cases, then a decline, and then a second surge.
For years, federal health officials joined doctors’ groups in recommending that everyone 6 months and older get an annual influenza vaccine. The shots may not prevent all symptoms but can prevent many infections from becoming severe, experts say.
But federal health officials on Monday announced they will no longer recommend flu vaccinations for U.S. children, saying it is a decision parents and patients should make in consultation with their doctors.
“I can’t begin to express how concerned we are about the future health of the children in this country, who already have been unnecessarily dying from the flu — a vaccine preventable disease,” said Michele Slafkosky, executive director of an advocacy organization called Families Fighting Flu.
“Now, with added confusion for parents and health care providers about childhood vaccines, I fear that flu seasons to come could be even more deadly for our youngest and most vulnerable,” she said in a statement.
Flu is just one of a group of viruses that tend to strike more often in the winter. Hospitalizations from COVID-19 and RSV, or respiratory syncytial virus, also have been rising in recent weeks — though were not diagnosed nearly as often as flu infections, according to other federal data.
___
The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
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Russia said on Friday it used its new hypersonic Oreshnik missile in an attack against Ukraine, according to reports.
The Kremlin said that the strike was carried out in response to what it said was an attempted Ukrainian drone strike on one of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s residences, something Kyiv has denied, according to Reuters.
The outlet noted that Ukraine and the U.S. have cast doubt on Russia’s claims about the alleged attempted attack on Putin’s residence on Dec. 29, the report said. Ukraine called it “an absurd lie,” while President Donald Trump also doubted the veracity of the claim, saying he did not believe the strike occurred and that “something” unrelated happened nearby.
This is the second time Russia has used the intermediate-range Oreshnik, which Putin has said is impossible to intercept because of its velocity, Reuters reported.
RUSSIA ALLEGES ATTACK ON PUTIN RESIDENCE AS UKRAINE DENIES CLAIM AHEAD OF TRUMP TALKS
A part of the Russian nuclear-capable hypersonic Oreshnik missile system at the site of the Russian missile strike, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, in Lviv region, Ukraine, Jan. 9, 2026. (Security Service of Ukraine/Handout via Reuters)
The Russian Defense Ministry said that the strike targeted critical infrastructure in Ukraine, according to Reuters, which added that Russia said the attack also used attack drones and high-precision long-range land and sea-based weapons.
While Moscow did not say where the missile hit, Russian media and military bloggers said it targeted an underground natural gas storage facility in Ukraine’s western Leviv region, CBS News reported. Lviv Mayor Andriy Sadoviy said the attack hit critical infrastructure but did not give details, the outlet added.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy addressed the attack on social media, saying that the aftermath was “still being dealt with.”
“Twenty residential buildings alone were damaged. Recovery operations after the strikes also continue in the Lviv region and other regions of our country. Unfortunately, as of now, it is known that four people have been killed in the capital alone. Among them is an ambulance crew member. My condolences to their families and loved ones,” Zelenskyy wrote.
A resident stands on the balcony of his apartment, damaged during a Russian drone strike, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Jan. 9, 2026. (Anatolii Stepanov/Reuters)
PUTIN RESIDENCE ATTACK VIDEO SLAMMED AS US OFFICIALS SAY UKRAINE DID NOT TARGET LEADER
The Ukrainian leader said the attack involved 242 drones, 13 ballistic missiles, one Oreshnik missile and 22 cruise missiles. Zelenskyy added that the ballistic missiles were aimed at energy facilities and civilian infrastructure as the people of Ukraine faced “a significant cold spell.” He said the attack was “aimed precisely against the normal life of ordinary people.” However, he assured that Ukraine was working to restore heating and electricity.
Zelenskyy claimed that in addition to the civilian infrastructure, a building of the Embassy of Qatar was damaged in the attack.
Apartment buildings hit by a Russian missile strike late yesterday, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, in the city of in Kryvyi Rih, Dnipropetrovsk region, Ukraine, on Jan. 9, 2026. (Stringer/Reuters)
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“A clear reaction from the world is needed. Above all from the United States, whose signals Russia truly pays attention to. Russia must receive signals that it is its obligation to focus on diplomacy, and must feel consequences every time it again focuses on killings and the destruction of infrastructure,” Zelenskyy added.
A spokesperson for the State Department told Fox News Digital that the U.S. remains committed to ending the war through diplomatic means, emphasizing that it is the only path toward a durable peace. The spokesperson underscored Trump’s desire to end the war that is approaching its fourth year.
Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for comment.
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