Transcript
Soundbite of Mofaz:”Our estimation is that, already by ’09, Iran will reach enrichment capability, and as soon as 2010, will have the option to reach at military levels.”
This Iranian projection of power was displayed this month with the test firing of its newest missiles, Shahab-3. Israel however is prepared for any attack out of the Middle East, with its focus now on the Iranian threat.
Soundbite of Mofaz: “For us, such situation that Iran would have nuclear power – it is an existentional threat. And from the state of Israel, point of view, it is unacceptable.”
Beginning in 1988, the United States Department of Defense: Strategic Defense Initiative contracted out a new program in Israel - called Arrow-1. This missile defense program would grow to become one of the top in the world, being updated to Arrow-2 in 1995 and costing around $1 billion total.
The Arrow system is located in a group, called a battery, consisting of five separate parts. Each battery hass four to eight launch trailers, each with six launch tubes. Then there are truck mounted control communications, and fire control centers – all manned. Finally, there is the all important radar system – capable of detecting targets at ranges up to about 500km and is able to track targets at speeds over 3,000 meters per second.
Once the missile is detected, Arrow launches its own missiles at the target – with a maximum speed of Mach 9 (6,850 mph) and max altitude of 50,000 meters. Each battery is capable of tracking and destroying multiple targets at once, with its first test in 2003. However, Arrow’s most telling test came in 2007, when the US launched a live Scud missile to imitate the Shahab-3 from Iran – the Arrow destroyed the target successfully.
Currently there are three batteries deployed one Palmahim IAF base, one Hadera, and finally Palmahim. The Arrow 2 system can detect and track incoming missiles as far away as 500 km and can intercept missiles 50-90 km away.
The Arrow missile is launched as soon as the incoming threat is detected - before the threat missile's trajectory and intercept point are accurately known. As more trajectory data becomes available, the intercept point is more precisely defined and the missile is guided towards the best intercept point.
When the missile nears its target, it detonates, capable of destroying a target within a 50-meter radius – this explosion from the Arrow in turn causes the incoming threat to explode. Arrow is capable of destroying the missile anywhere from an altitude of 10 to 40 kilometers.
Israel has long been developing their missile defense program and is constantly looking to upgrade it.
Israel has recently expressed interest in purchasing the Patriot missile system from the U.S. and further developing a high intensity laser, capable of precision guided strikes and interception of incoming missiles.
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