Skip to main content

Arrow 3 missile-interceptors add to Israel’s long-term plan against Iran

The successful testing this week of the Arrow 3 anti-ballistic-missile system is part of IDF preparations against a nuclear-threshold Iran.

JACK GUEZ/AFP via Getty Images
This picture taken from the southern Israeli city of Sderot shows rockets fired from the Gaza Strip being intercepted by the Israeli Iron Dome missile defense system on May 16, 2021. — JACK GUEZ/AFP via Getty Images

Israel tested its Arrow3 missile defense system this week in what was described as a breakthrough for its ability to intercept ballistic missiles outside the earth’s atmosphere. Israeli defense officials used such superlatives as “unprecedented” to describe the achievement, saying it was indicative of “Israel’s technological superiority” and underscoring the system’s innovative capabilities in confronting an array of threats, among them nonconventional ones, before they penetrate the atmosphere.

The experiment was led by the Israel Missile Defense Organization in conjunction with the US Missile Defense Agency and Israeli defense industries. According to the Defense Ministry’s official statement, the test involved detection of an incoming target by the Arrow’s radar, relay of the data to the system’s Shooting Management Center, analysis of the information and preparation of an interception plan, and the launch of two Arrow3 interceptors, each with a different mission, which destroyed the target.

Related Topics

Subscribe for unlimited access

All news, events, memos, reports, and analysis, and access all 10 of our newsletters. Learn more

$14 monthly or $100 annually ($8.33/month)
OR

Continue reading this article for free

All news, events, memos, reports, and analysis, and access all 10 of our newsletters. Learn more.

By signing up, you agree to Al-Monitor’s Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy. Already have an account? Log in