Israel Conducts Successful Test of Upgraded Arrow 2

Israel’s Defense Ministry announced on Thursday that it had conducted a successful missile defense drill overnight. According to ministry officials, the drill involved an incoming missile whose performance mimicked the Iranian Shihab 3, and its interception by the Arrow 2, a system developed jointly with the United States. Boaz Levi, vice president of Israel Aerospace Industries, the system’s manufacturer, told reporters the Arrow 2 had “worked perfectly,” adding that it was capable of taking on incoming rockets armed with nuclear warheads. The full Arrow air-defense array consists of the Arrow 1, 2 and 3 systems, designed for interceptions at varying altitudes and distances. For example, the Arrow 3 is designed to shoot down ballistic missiles while they are still above Earth’s atmosphere. The Arrow 2 launched overnight was an upgraded version meant to be effective just within the atmosphere. Following the drill, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu expressed his “deepest gratitude to our ally, the US, for the joint advancement of Israel’s security.”