Arrow missile test’s outcome still up in the air

Defense officials remained cautious on Wednesday about the outcome of an Arrow II anti-missile system test on Tuesday, although Russian sources claimed to have evidence that the test had failed.

Engineers and analysts were still reviewing the data from the test but were unable to determine the fate of either the target missile or the Arrow interceptor.

The test, conducted by the Defense Ministry and the US Missile Defense Agency, began when a fighter jet released a “Blue Sparrow” target missile at high altitude over the Mediterranean Sea, hundreds of miles off the Israeli coast.

The Blue Sparrow is designed to simulate the flight path of an incoming long-range ballistic missile.

An Arrow-2 interceptor missile was then fired at the target and streaked out toward it. Just what happened after is unclear, as the theoretical point of interception was beyond the range of tracking cameras.

Technicians must now rely on the data received from both the target and the interceptor, but warned it could take some time to interpret the vast volume of information received.

“The missiles broadcast data every second that could fill thousands of pages, like the volumes of an encyclopedia,” a defense source said. “Therefore, it will take many days to check the details and to understand what really happened in the air.”

One option that engineers are looking into is that that Blue Sparrow target failed to fly as normal.

On Tuesday, Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Major-General Igor Konashenkov said that the target missile was not intercepted and that it had been found in the sea 300 kilometers from Tel Aviv, Walla reported.

Israel is in the process of developing a five-tiered system of air defense, offering protection against projectiles ranging from mortars to ballistic weapons.

Of the two operational systems, only Iron Dome has been used in combat. Defending against short-to-mid-range rockets, it intercepted roughly 90 percent of its targeted projectiles during Operation Protective Edge, according to figures released by the army.

The other three systems – Iron Beam, David’s Sling, and Arrow 3 – are expected to become operational within the coming two years.

The Arrow 3, still incomplete, is designed to intercept missiles at a higher altitude, in space and above the earth’s atmosphere, minimizing the threat of fallout from weapons of mass destruction and increasing the likelihood of a successful interception of incoming missiles.

Mitch Ginsburg contributed to this report.