Iron Dome CRAM launcher near the town of Sderot. Photo: wiki commons.

The air defense branch of the Israel Defense Forces recently deployed an Iron Dome short-range anti-rocket battery near the northern city of Safed for the first time since the system became operational in March 2011, Israel Hayom reported.

The same battery was previously deployed near Eilat and the IDF has been moving it to different points in the country to test its operation. The deployment near Safed is not viewed by analysts to mean the IDF has obtained intelligence information of a possible conflict in the north.

Several weeks ago, the same battery was set up at different sites in the center of the country, Haifa in the north, and other areas.

An IDF officer said the idea behind the deployments is to prepare the sites where Iron Dome is set up for future use.

According to an IDF spokesman, “As part of an operational program for the Iron Dome system, batteries are being transferred to various locations from time to time to test the systems and align them.”