December 3, 2005 :: News
On Friday December 2, Israel conducted another intercept test of its Arrow ballistic missile defense system. A Black Sparrow target missile said to simulate an Iranian Shahab-3 missile was launched from an aircraft overflying the Mediterranean. Radar located the target and transmitted its trajectory data to the command and control center, which calculated plans for defending against it. These were transmitted to the launcher, which launched the test interceptor from a military base said to be south of Tel Aviv. The interceptor, by some accounts the newer, “Arrow-2” interceptor produced and recently delivered by Boeing, successfully destroyed the target. A brochure provided by Rafael, producer of the Black Sparrow target, claims that it is capable of reproducing various reentry patterns: simple ballistic, barrel roll, and other sorts of maneuvers (inset picture).
The exercise marked the fourteenth test of the Arrow interceptor, and the ninth trial run for the current weapons system. Defense officials said the object of the test was to examine the system’s enhanced capabilities, including an expanded interception range, and to test the interface between the Arrow system and the Patriot missile system, which is supposed to become activated in the event that the Arrow does not destroy the target.
Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz called the test “a tremendous achievement” that “once again underscores the principle that the State of Israel relies first and foremost on itself when it comes to safeguarding the citizens of Israel.” Aryeh Herzog, head of the Arrow project in the Defense Ministry, told Israel Channel Two TV, “The launch was successful. The significance is that the Arrow arms project proved another part of its range of operations against the Iranian threat.”
Jane’s Defense Weekly reports that the test pushed the altitude boundaries of the Arrow beyond those of previous tests:
The interception was conducted at a record low altitude, considered below the AWS’s performance envelope, and determined the operability of the Arrow II Block 3 interceptor, manufactured jointly by Israel Aircraft Industries (IAI) and Boeing Integrated Defense Systems.
“We have never before tried the Arrow against the Shahab characteristics, but we know now that we are capable of intercepting all existing ballistic missile threats in the region, whether conventional or non-conventional, and we are developing capabilities to deal with future threats,” Director of the Israel Missile Defence Organisation Arieh Herzog told JDW.
…Following the interception, IAF’s MIM-104 Patriot low- to high-altitude air-defence batteries joined the test, simulating an additional interception at lower altitude. Israel’s ballistic missile defence concept is based on a two-tier layered defence in which the AWS constitutes the higher layer and the Patriot an additional, lower layer.
On August 26, 2004, the Arrow-2 failed to intercept a Shahab-3-type target (Black Sparrow) in a test. A few days earlier on July 29, 2004, the Arrow had successfully intercepted a Scud-type target. Both tests were conducted in California.
A senior Israeli defense source was quoted as saying that Arrow system was preparing to provide a response to several missiles launched simultaneously at Israel, naming Iran and Syria as the primary threats being considered.
Yair Ramati of the IAI’s MALAM defense plant was interviewed about the test on Voice of Israel radio in Jerusalem. Ramati said of the upgrades to the Arrow-2 upgrades,
The improvements do not lie in the hardware, but rather in new software installed in the radar, in the command and control systems and in the missile itself. It is a kind of a combination that has to be tested. Incidentally, this was the third time the software was tested.
(Article)» Interview on Voice of Israel radio
» Voice of Israel report of test
» Rafael brochure for Black Sparrow target missile
» Jane’s Defense Weekly on Arrow test
» More stories on: Israel, Testing - Foreign
» Missile system details for: Arrow
