Israel and US successfully test Arrow 3 long-range missile defense system

Latest test of Arrow 3 successful; US: This successful test provides confidence in Israel’s capability to protect itself from existing threats in the region.

Israel’s Ministry of Defense and the US Missile Defense Agency successfully tested the Arrow 3 defense system in central Israel on Tuesday.

The Arrow 3 differs from the Iron Dome short-range missile defense system in that it is capable of intercepting long-range missile threats, including exoatmospheric intercepts. The mobile system is used by monitoring and following a projectile threat from its launch and intercepting and downing the threat with an anti-missile interceptor in the skies before it hits its target.

The Arrow 3 was successfully used in Israel in December 2018 to down a Syrian anti-aircraft missile fired into Israeli territory, the IDF confirming at the time, “An IDF aerial defense system activated in response to an anti-aircraft missile launched from Syria.”

The system has been under cooperative development between the United States and Israel since the 1980’s and is Israel’s most advanced missile defense system.

Prime Minister Netanyahu traveled to Be’er Yaakov to tour the Israel Aerospace Industries MLM Division plant where the Arrow 3 was developed, congratulating the hard work and success of the defense system. He stated, “Israel has very strong defensive and offensive capabilities that are among the most advanced in the world. Our enemies who seek to destroy us should know that Israel’s clenched fist will reach all those who seek our ill and we will settle accounts with them. Israel and the US have the deepest cooperation between their defense industries. I would like to express special appreciation for our ally, the United States, for the security cooperation in testing and developing our defensive systems, including the Arrow missile.”

He added that Israel will “continue to successfully develop the most advanced weapons systems in the world in order to ensure the security of the citizens of Israel and the State of Israel.”

Director of the US Missile Defense Agency, US Air Force General Samuel Greaves, addressed the test and Israel’s challenges in the region, stating “This successful test provides confidence in Israel’s capability to protect itself from existing threats in the region. We are committed to assisting the government of Israel in upgrading its national missile defense capability against emerging threats.”

The Arrow 3 is essential for Israel’s defense, mainly from regional threats, such as Iran and Syria.