First Nightime Arrow Test is Successful

The Israeli Arrow missile was succesfully tested in its first time nighttime trial, intercepting a target that simulated the warhead of a long-range Iranian surface-to-surface Shihab-3 missile. This test, conducted over the Mediterranean Sea, featured the debut launch of the Arrow M-4 interceptor, the first missile jointly produced by prime contractor Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) and Boeing, its American partner.

This was the 15th test of the Arrow. The previous one, in December 2005, was also successful. Two Arrow batteries, one in Palmahim in the south and the other at Ein Shemer at the center of the country, tracked the missile with the help of a Patriot battery. The Defense Ministry said “the purpose of the test was to study the improved operational capabilities of the system, which include expansion of the intercept envelope against future targets that might threaten Israel.” The entire process - from target acquisition to target destruction - took mere minutes, and demonstrated full fidelity of all elements of the integrated system.

Following the successful test, the Pentagon's Missile Defense Agency (MDA) agreed to a five year extension of joint testing and upgrades of the U.S.-Israel Arrow system. Initial plans called for Arrow System Improvement Program (ASIP) to conclude in 2008. The growing specter of increasingly advanced ballistic missile threats to both nationas warranted renewal of the program and extend its allocated significant funding through 2013.