The Israel Missile Defense Organization (IMDO) of the Directorate of Defense Research and Development (DDR&D) and the U.S. Missile Defense Agency (MDA) said Tuesday they conducted an intercept test of the Arrow-2 interceptor missile–though results are unclear at this point.
The Arrow-2 is an operational system run by the Israeli Air Force, which is currently providing the Arrow Weapon System (AWS) with an interceptor engagement capability. It is part of Israel’s multi-layer ballistic missile defense system..
The test was conducted at an Israeli test range over the Mediterranean Sea.
Published reports in Israeli papers said a Sparrow missile was fired as the target for the Arrow 2, but it is currently unclear if it was intercepted. It will take a few days to determine if the target was intercepted, according to the Jerusalem Post. At press time, IMDO had yet to respond to queries.
“An Arrow 2 missile was launched and performed its flight sequence as planned,” the IMDO/MDA statement said. “The results are being analyzed by program engineers.”
Photo: MDA
As an operational system, the test was somewhat similar to what the United States does when it takes an operational ICBM or GMD missile out of inventory and tests it.
The test results have no effect on the Israeli operational system’s capability to cope with the existing threats in the region, the agencies said.
This test was of an improved version of the joint U.S.-Israel AWS, intended to counter future threats, an evolving process to deal with ever more sophisticated threats.
Israel and MDA have been working on the Arrow Weapon System since the 1990s. The Arrow 2 has a blast-fragmentation warhead.
Currently IMDO and MDA are working on an Arrow 3 interceptor, which in January conducted a successful test. The Arrow 3 has a hit-to-kill warhead.
The primary contractor for the integration and the development of the Arrow Weapon System is MLM of the Israel Aerospace Industries in conjunction with Boeing [BA], Elta, and Elbit/Elisra.