Israel, US test anti-missile defense system

By Turgut Alp Boyraz

JERUSALEM 

Israeli and U.S. defense officials conducted a test of the Arrow 2 anti-missile defense system over the Mediterranean Sea on Tuesday morning, the Israeli Defense Ministry has said.

In a statement, the ministry said the test had been conducted at an "Israeli test range" over the Mediterranean Sea.

"An Arrow 2 missile was launched and performed its flight sequence as planned," the ministry said. "The results are being analyzed by program engineers."

"This test was an improved version of the joint U.S.-Israel Arrow Weapon System, intended to counter future threats," the ministry statement read. 

It added: "This test has no connection to the operational performance of the Arrow Weapons System, which is operated by the Air Defense Command of the air force."

In January, Israel and the U.S. tested an anti-ballistic missile system.

Israel's "Iron Dome" anti-missile defense system, which has been deployed across the country, has intercepted nine out of every ten rockets fired from Gaza, according to Israeli figures.

Israel's recent offensive against the Gaza Strip ended on August 26 with the announcement of an open-ended cease-fire with Palestinian resistance factions.

The devastating 51-day offensive left some 2,147 Gazans dead and 11,000 injured – the vast majority of them civilians – and thousands of residential structures in ruins.

According to Israeli figures, 67 Israeli soldiers and five civilians were killed over the course of the operation – the highest military death toll suffered by Israel since it lost 119 troops in its 2006 war on Lebanon.

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