Arrow 3 Weapon System Successfully Tested by Israel

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Israel’s Ministry of Defense, IDF and the US Missile Defense Agency (MDA) successfully conducted this morning (Jan. 18) a planned trial of the Arrow weapon system and the Arrow-3 interceptor, an anti-ballistic missile system. The test, led by Israel Aerospace Industries in collaboration with the Israel Air Force, took place in central Israel. 

The Arrow-3 development program is one of the joint programs between Israel and the United States, was co-managed by the US Missile Defense Agency and IMDO, a division of MAF’AT (DDR&D), the Israeli Ministry of Defense.  

During the test, the Arrow system’s radars array “detected the target and transferred the data to the battle management control (BMC), which analyzed the data, established a defense plan, and launched two Arrow 3 interceptors towards the exo-atmospheric target, successfully destroying it, according to IMDO’s announcement.

According to Israel DoD, “the success of this test is an important milestone for Israel’s operational capability to defend itself against existing and evolving threats in the region.” 

Interested in learning more about air and missile defense? Attend IAMD – the Israeli Air and Missile Defense Conference and Exhibition on March 8 at Tel Aviv Expo, pavilion 10.

IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Aviv Kohavi: The test “is another element in our ability to respond to developing threats in the region, and is a part of the implementation of the IDF’s multi-year plan.”

IAI President and CEO, Boaz Levy: The system was tested in a “challenging scenario” against “future threats” and throughout the test, it gathered “essential information that will be used by the defense establishment and the company’s engineers for the development of future technology.” He said that the two interceptors had “two different missions” with two different flight paths to shoot down the same target.

The Arrow System, he added, “proved once again that Israel holds one of the world’s most advanced defense systems against ballistic missiles.”

Brig. Gen. (res.) Daniel Gold, Head of MAF’AT, said: “This is a groundbreaking testing that demonstrates yet another technological advancement in the capabilities of the defense establishment to innovate and adapt to regional threats.”

IMDO Director, Moshe Patel: “The defense establishment continues to improve the capabilities of the multi-level defense array against future regional threats. We have accomplished another major achievement in expanding the system’s capabilities since the successful Arrow 3 testing series in 2019.”