Successful Arrow anti-missile test in California

In face of Iran's continued race for nuclear power, Israel conducted a successful test of the Arrow 2 ballistic missile defense system off the coast of California early Tuesday morning, when it destroyed a target simulating an Iranian ballistic missile.

It was the eighteenth test of the Arrow, and the second in which the modified Arrow 2 was tested in its entirety, along with the Green Pine radar manufactured by Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI).

The test was conducted jointly by the IAF, the Defense Ministry's Homa Missile Defense Agency and the US Missile Defense Agency. The Arrow is a project developed in cooperation by the IAI and Boeing.

The Arrow interceptor was launched at around 10:30 pm Pacific Standard Time from a US Navy base along the California coast and intercepted a missile fired from a nearby navy vessel. Defense officials said that the enemy missile impersonated a "future threat that Israel could one day face in the region." Defense officials lauded the successful launching as another indication of Israel's defense capabilities in the face of Iran's continued quest for a nuclear weapon. They said that the Arrow system could protect Israel from all of the missiles in Iran's arsenal.

"This test is important for Israel as it prepares to counter the ballistic missile threat in the region," Herzog said. "This test proves the success of the system after it underwent new upgrades." Defense Minister Ehud Barak said that the test was an important milestone in the Israel's development of missile defense systems. Last week, the IAF successfully tested the Iron Dome counter-rocket defense system ahead of its planned deployment in southern Israel.