Yesterday's test of Israel's Arrow anti-missile system has been deemed a partial failure. After successfully intercepting a Scud missile in last month's test run off the California coast, the Arrow did not succeed this time in a more difficult mission: distinguishing between a rocket's engine and warhead that split off from each other.
Aryeh Herzog of the Defense Ministry said that the Arrow proved yesterday that it can distinguish between various targets. He said, however, that 10 seconds before the planned hit, an unidentified malfunction occurred, and that it is being investigated.
On Thursday morning, California time, the target missile - similar to missiles used by Iran (the Shihab-3) and Syria (the Scud-D) was fired by an American cargo plane. Shortly afterwards, the missile's warhead and engine separated. The Arrow detected the warhead and headed for it, but did not destroy it. Despite the failure, Herzog expressed great confidence in the Arrow and its ability to destroy Syrian and Iranian missiles fired at Israel.
Aryeh Herzog of the Defense Ministry said that the Arrow proved yesterday that it can distinguish between various targets. He said, however, that 10 seconds before the planned hit, an unidentified malfunction occurred, and that it is being investigated.
On Thursday morning, California time, the target missile - similar to missiles used by Iran (the Shihab-3) and Syria (the Scud-D) was fired by an American cargo plane. Shortly afterwards, the missile's warhead and engine separated. The Arrow detected the warhead and headed for it, but did not destroy it. Despite the failure, Herzog expressed great confidence in the Arrow and its ability to destroy Syrian and Iranian missiles fired at Israel.