The developmental Arrow missile defense system, a U.S.-Israeli joint venture, successfully intercepted a ballistic target missile during a flight test conducted last week, the U.S. government said in a press statement.
The test was conducted jointly by the Israel Missile Defense Organization and the U.S. Missile Defense Agency at the U.S. Naval Air Warfare Center, Weapons Division-Pt. Mugu Sea Range.
The target missile was launched from a mobile launch platform off the coast of California, within the Pt. Mugu test range, on Feb. 22 at 10:30 p.m. Pacific Standard Time. The target was representative of potential ballistic-missile threats facing Israel, according to the release.
The system’s radar successfully detected and tracked the target and transferred information to the battle-management-control system. Arrow launched an interceptor missile, which performed its planned trajectory and destroyed the target missile. The test represented a realistic scenario, according to the two governments, which said all the elements of the system “performed in their operational configuration.”
The main contractor for the integration and the development of Arrow is the MLM division of the Israel Aerospace Industries. The radar is developed by ELTA Industries, and the battle management system is developed by Tadiran Electronic Systems, Ltd.