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History in the Skies: The First Operational Use of Arrow 3
Yehoshua Kalisky 12/11/2023
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In its first operational use, the Arrow 3 defense system successfully intercepted a ballistic missile launched from Yemen by the Houthis. The operational interception of the Arrow 3 system occurred in space, in the Red Sea region, far from the missile's target – Eilat.
The Arrow system is part of the State of Israel’s multi-layered air defense framework, comprising Patriot missiles, mainly against aircraft and UAVs; Iron Dome – against short to medium range rockets and UAVs; Magic Wand/David’s Sling – against medium range rockets and missiles, UAVs, and cruise missiles; Arrow 2 – against medium and long range ballistic missiles; and Arrow 3, which intercepts targets at a range of thousands of kilometers and at high altitude.
The Arrow system is jointly developed by the defense establishment (IMDO), Israeli Aerospace Industries, Elta Systems, and the Boeing Company, together with subcontractors in Israel and the US and the US Missile Defense Agency – MDA. This is a modular interception system that integrates into the multi- layered defense system and is managed by radar systems for long-range detection, and other systems, the most advanced of their kind in the world for surveillance, command, and control. The Arrow missiles have high maneuverability, move at supersonic speed, and are equipped with thermal and optical sensors and radar in order to hit the target.
Arrow 2 is a two-stage missile that operates within the atmosphere, propelled by solid fuel, where the second stage of the missile is a warhead with a combat device and a proximity detonator that explodes near the target and destroys it in the phase of penetration into the atmosphere with a lethal spray. The Arrow 3 missile is an exo-atmospheric missile, so the interception is carried out far from Israel's borders, which this reduces possible dangers of dispersing chemical or biological warfare materials in the country's territory. In the case of Arrow 3, the interception is done by a direct kinetic encounter between the warhead and the target – hit and kill. The warhead of Arrow 3 has excellent maneuverability, so it is also effective against a maneuvering target.
This is a unique interception system that is an integral part of the multi-layered air defense system and thus provides the State of Israel with an additional protective shell against medium and long range ballistic missiles.