Thaindian News

Jerusalem, March 1 (IANS) Israel will test its next-generation Arrow 3 missile defence system, the authorities said Thursday.

“The initial trial of the advanced Arrow 3 will be performed in the near future to confirm the interceptor’s effectiveness,” Itzhak Kaya, head of the Arrow Missile Program at Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), said.

“A series of different tests will be run to establish the system’s high level of reliability within a short time,” he said at a military exhibition near Tel Aviv, Xinhua reported.

Kaya said that Arrow 3, which utilizes a radar system named “Green Pine”, is “more capable than ever” to deal with future threats.

In limited tests conducted a few weeks ago, he said, the system demonstrated improved identification and tracking of incoming missiles “with high levels of certainty”.

Asked whether planned cuts to Israel’s defence budget would delay completion of the system’s development and its acquisition by the Israeli military, Kaya said the program was “on track”.

The Israel Air Force currently deploys two Arrow 2 batteries, with a third on the way. Arrow 3, which is slated to comprise the upper tier of Israel’s missile defences, is scheduled to enter service in 2015.

“There is no such thing as 100 percent defence, but the Arrow is capable of providing adequate defence against Iran’s Shahab and Sajil ballistic missiles,” Arieh Herzog, who recently stepped down as director of the defence ministry’s Homa Missile Defence Agency (HMDA), told The Jerusalem Post.

“The Iranians have the ability to launch barrages and that is an important part of their capabilities, but we are prepared and have the ability to intercept those barrages,” Herzog said.