Israel and U.S. successfully test anti-missile system
Israel and U.S. successfully test anti-missile system – Haaretz Daily Newspaper | Israel News.
The Arrow anti-missile system, jointly developed by Israel and the U.S., is primarily aimed at defending Israel from threat of Iran missile strike.
By Anshel Pfeffer and The Associated Press
Israel and the United States successfully carried out a test of Israel’s Arrow anti-missile system off the coast of California on Tuesday morning.
The Defense Ministry says the Arrow detected, intercepted and destroyed a target missile launched from an offshore platform late Monday inside a U.S. Navy firing range.
The test was held in order to see if the missile would be successful against Iran’s advanced missile, the Shahab 3, which could be used to hit Israel and regional U.S. bases.
Jointly developed by Israel and the U.S., the Arrow detects an incoming missile and destroys it with a second missile. It is primarily aimed at defending Israel from the threat of an Iranian missile strike.
Tuesday’s statement said the test provides confidence in operational Israeli capabilities to defeat the developing ballistic missile threat.
It was the latest in a series of successful tests of the system.
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Arrow type missile being launched in an IDF test site, 2006. |
| Photo by: IDF |
WarSclerotic 
February 22, 2011 at 4:13 PM
The Arrow, Iron Dome, the Trophy anti-tank missile system and more. Israel provides the US with a tremendous amount of technological innovation giving our armed forces an edge. When I hear people complain about providing aid to Israel they always have no clue about how much comes back to America in purchases of equipment and advanced technology.
March 1, 2011 at 10:18 PM
1. The US gains very warn entrance into Israel core of military, scientific and political leadership and know-how and have a vast base to manipulate the Israeli politicians into American interests (an exemplary case is the “Lavi” project).
2. The 3 B$ a year is paying back mainly through US military compounds and industries that give huge “blood pressure” to those factories and keeping their employees on jobs.
3. Israel keeps close ties with the factories she buys from and with the US army / navy / air force and advices them how to improve military projects and how to adjust them to meet the battle needs. Some military Israeli products are playing major roll in Iraq and Afghan arenas and save American soldiers’ lives (UAV, Optical gadgets, communication assets, operation know-how). US soldiers are trained in Israel to operate in ME desert’s environment and terrain.
4. Israel new inventions, adjustments, gadgets, experience, know-how, technologies and developments flow to the US almost for free and help the US industries and armies. The “Arrow” project is not just partially subsidized by the US, but the ownership and the future profits are theirs too. So apart from the fact that the US benefits its dollars again she also benefited from acquiring the new systems’ technological breakthrough. The “Arrow” is only the most known example, but there are many others which didn’t get yet known to the public (Some hint mentioned: the Laser bean system, air to air and air to ground missiles).
5. Let’s take for example the UAV drone projects. Israel was the first country that took this matter seriously in the early 70th and developed huge and fascinating UAV industries that lead the world with new developments and breakthrough concepts and technologies. The US woke up only 20 years later and Israel helped hers military industries to start their UAV’S rpoject, to study the tactics and the strategic benefits of these aerial vehicles. Now, the US and alliance forces are using Israeli drones, or those who were produced with the help of Israeli technology, in Afghanistan and Yemen and saving by that many US and allies’ soldier’s life.
6. More than Israel wants the military aid, the US wants to give it to Israel. The 3B$ a year turns Israel to be more tied and depended on US interests and makes the US more influential over Israel, which gives her more political value and strength in the eyes of the Muslims states.
7. Israel combatant expertise were taught in the US, Britain, Australia, France military units, and some of the combatants came to Israel to be trained at Israel military facilities. Not to mention that this expertise is saving lot of the coalition’s soldiers lives in Iraq and Afghanistan.
8. Israel industries produce lot of technology and military excellent products which are well sold everywhere. But she can’t sell these goods to countries that the US thinks will harm her own interests, while the US sells almost everything to everyone, even to the enemies of Israel, without asking Israel’s opinion. This is the best situation that the US can wish for, and that is one of the reasons for the US policy to give Israel this annual aid which let her almost control the Israeli security selling market. The US even influencing by stopping Israeli military projects that may weakened the Israeli military ties and dependent on the US, such as the closure of the fighter ‘Lavi’ project in late 80th. Too militarily Independent Israel doesn’t serve the US interests, to be polite.
9. I’m sure that I can raise more issues to explain why the special US-Israel connection benefits the US more than Israel, but I’ll let others to add, for now.