Jerusalem: Israel has called off a test of an
advanced missile defense system, citing a communications
malfunction.
The Defense Ministry said in a statement on Wednesday
that the cancellation of the Arrow-3 trial "has no impact" on
already operational Arrow-2 and Arrow-3 missile defense
systems. The ministry canceled a similar trial in December.
Moshe Patel, head of Israel's missile defense arm, said
that had "an Iranian missile" been launched at Israel, the
Arrow-3 system would have still been used to intercept it.
Arrow-3 is part of the multi-layered system Israel is
developing to defend against both short- and mid-range rockets
fired from the Gaza Strip and Lebanon, as well as Iran's
long-range missiles.
It was developed by Israel Aerospace Industries and U.S.
aviation giant Boeing, and became operational in January
2017.
