Missile defenseIsrael tests advanced Arrow 3 missile defense

Israel and the United States have jointly tested the Arrow 3, a ballistic missile defense system designed to intercept enemy missiles outside the atmosphere.

“This is the first flight test of the Arrow 3 interceptor and was conducted at an Israeli test range over the Mediterranean Sea,” the Israel Ministry of defense said in a statement. “Israel’s Missile Defense Organization and U.S. Missile Defense Agency officials conducted the flight test,” it added.

The Arrow 3 is the fourth component of Israel’s layered missile and rocket defense system:

• Iron Dome system intercepts short-range rockets with a range of up to four kilometers
• David’s Sling’s system is designed to intercept long-range rockets, with a range of up to seventy kilometers
• Arrow 2 is designed to intercept mid-range missiles, those with range of up to 300 kilometers
• Arrow 3 is designed to intercept long-range ballistic missile, with a range of up to 2,500 kilometers

The Telegraph reports that Israeli defense ministry officials said the Arrow 3 was designed to intercept missiles outside the atmosphere.

“The Arrow 3 is the upper tier for exo-atmospheric interceptions to provide the state of Israel additional opportunities for interception of incoming missiles from Iran or elsewhere.”

“This is the first flyout, it is the first time that (it) flew through the air,” the official said. “This is the first time the interceptor with all of its equipment took off and flew.”

The Telegraph notes that the official said the test was unrelated to growing regional tension. “The test has nothing to do with the current political environment between Israel and elsewhere,” he said, adding that he could not say when the system would become operational.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu welcomed the “successful” test. “While Israel’s hand is always extended in peace, we are always prepared for other possibilities as well,” Netanyahu said.

“In this context, I welcome the successful test of the Arrow-3 missile; it expresses the high technological and security abilities of the State of Israel, the defense industries, the defense ministry and our cooperation with the US.”

The Telegraph notes that Iron Dome has already been battle-tested. The Iron Dome’s computers plot the trajectory of a launched rocket to see whether it is likely to fall in an urban area – then intercepts only those rockets heading toward urban areas. In eight days of fighting between Israel and Hamas last November, the Iron Dome system brought down 421 of 1,354 rockets fired from the Gaza Strip. Of those rockets which landed, fifty-eight hit urban areas while the rest fell in open fields, causing no damage.