Israel wants to buy a rocket intercept system from the United States to protect against militant fire from the Gaza Strip, Defence Minister Ehud Barak said in an interview published on Tuesday.
"The Vulcan-Phalanx canons and radar will be part of a multi-layer defence to intercept rockets," Barak told the Haaretz newspaper.
"Such defence, as far as I am concerned, is a strategic goal," he said.
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The system consists of the Phalanx radar for targeting rockets and the 20-millimetre Vulcan Gatling gun to shoot them down, with each component costing 25 million dollars (19 million euros), Haaretz said.
The gun component is already being used by American and Israeli navy ships, it said.
