Arrow 3 defense system awarded Israel’s Defense Prize

The developers of the Arrow 3 were recognized for their immense contribution to Israel’s security. 

President Reuven Rivlin and Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman on Monday presented the Israel Defense Prize, the most prestigious award in Israel’s defense establishment, to two key contributors to Israeli security, one of them the developers of the Arrow 3 missile defense system.

The Arrow-3 interceptor capabilities enable longer range, higher altitude exo-atmospheric interception and more precise ballistic missile engagements.

The Arrow 3 is the only interceptor that does not carry a warhead, but intercepts an incoming missile by crashing into it.

As one of the developers told IDF Radio on Tuesday, it’s like shooting a bullet at an incoming bullet, just much faster.

The combined interception capabilities of the Arrow-2 and Arrow-3, key parts of Israel’s multi-layered defense system, significantly reduce the possibilities of ballistic missiles striking the State of Israel.

The Arrow 3 anti-ballistic defense system became operational in January.

In March, Israel deployed for the first time an Arrow 2 interceptor at an incoming missile from Syria

The Arrow 2 and Arrow 3 join Israel’s broad defensive systems, which include the highly successful Iron Dome system and David’s Sling, designed to contend with mid-range missiles. They provide an almost hermetic defense against a wide array of ballistic projectiles, with eyes on the Iranian ballistic threat and those posed by the Hezbollah terror organization out of Lebanon and Hamas out of Gaza.

By: Aryeh Savir, World Israel News