The Israeli Ministry of Defense to purchase Arrow Missiles to Strengthen Air Defense System
The Israeli Ministry of Defense signed, Tuesday, a new deal worth 2 billion shekels to purchase new Arrow interceptor missiles, manufactured by the Israel Aerospace Industries (AIA), to enhance the Israeli army’s air defense system.
The deal reportedly includes the relatively old Arrow-2 missiles, which intercept missiles at altitudes of tens of kilometers, as well as the Arrow-3 missiles, which intercept air threats in space, according to Israeli reports.
This comes despite the failure of the Arrow missiles to intercept ballistic missiles launched by the Yemeni Ansar Allah group from Yemen on at least two occasions; however, the Israeli security establishment still expresses its confidence in the efficiency of the system, which has been used extensively to intercept Iranian missile attacks.
The two massive missile attacks by Iran on Israel, which included the launch of hundreds of ballistic missiles towards Israel, imposed the need to purchase more interceptor missiles, beyond what had been planned, the defense ministry officials said.
The majority of Israel’s Arrow missile purchases are funded by US military aid to Israel under a multi-year procurement program; the US is also a partner in financing the development and production of the defense organization.
The deal comes at a time when the Israel Aerospace Industries plant near Rishon LeZion, in central Israel, is witnessing intensive work to produce Arrow-3 missiles for Germany, which has purchased the defense system to counter Russian missiles.
The Israeli air defense system is expected to be delivered to the German Air Force next year, which will require an increase in the workforce at the factory, which is considered one of the most sensitive military factories in Israel, and which produces the Israeli Jericho ballistic missiles.
At the same time, Israel Aerospace Industries continues to develop new generations of the Arrow system, such as the Arrow-4 and Arrow-5, which are expected to be more capable of dealing with maneuverable and hypersonic missiles.
