Israel Successfully Tests Arrow Missile Defense System

By YAAKOV KATZ
02/10/2012 13:48
Officials say the test demonstrates Israel's ability to defend itself in a future war; test successfully tracks missile meant to impersonate Iranian ballistic missile.

By Ho New / Reuters

In the face of Iran's continued pursuit of a nuclear weapon, Israel tested the Arrow missile defense system on Friday in what officials said was a successful demonstration of the country's ability to defend itself in a future war.

At 11 a.m., an F-15 Israel Air Force (IAF) fighter jet launched a Blue Sparrow, a missile developed by Raphael to impersonate long-range Iranian ballistic missiles.

The Arrow's radar and detection system, developed by Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) detected the incoming "enemy" missile and tracked it together with the US X-Band radar deployed in the Negev dessert.

The Arrow interceptor was not launched during the test, in line with the parameters of the drill, which was carried out to test the system's overall capabilities in detecting and tracking incoming enemy targets.

The Defense Ministry said the test was not connected to current events and was part of the Arrow systems annual training regiment, but that it was a significant milestone, as it completes the development of the Block 4 stage of the interceptor, which will be delivered to the IAF soon.

The Arrow serves as Israel's upper-tier missile defense system. Additional layers include the Iron Dome for short-range rockets and the soon-to-be-deployed David's Sling, which is being developed to defend against medium range rockets.

In October or November, Israel and the United States are expected to hold a joint Austere Challenge missile-defense exercise.

Senior American military officers from the European Command are scheduled to arrive in Israel later this month to finalize plans to hold the exercise, which has been billed as the largest joint missile-defense exercise in the countries’ history.

The drill was initially scheduled for April and was supposed to see the deployment of thousands of US troops and various sophisticated American military equipment in Israel.