Defense Ministry inks deal with IAI to expand supply of Arrow 3 missile interceptors
Multi-billon shekel deal is to provide more of the interceptors that have proven successful at knocking down incoming ballistic missiles amid spike in attacks from Yemen
The Defense Ministry said Tuesday it had signed a deal worth billions of shekels with the Israel Aerospace Industries for the defense firm to expand its production of Arrow 3 interceptor missiles, which have been used multiple times over the past 14 months of war to thwart long-range ballistic missile attacks on the country.
The order of more interceptors for the long-range air defense system comes following increased ballistic missile attacks on Israel by the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen in recent days.
The Arrow 3 is designed to take out ballistic missiles outside of the atmosphere, and it has been used repeatedly against Houthi attacks, and against Iran’s direct attacks on Israel in April and October.
Under the deal, the IAI would provide the military with “a significant amount” of Arrow 3 interceptors, worth billions of shekels, the Defense Ministry said in a statement.
“Israel has the best air defense capabilities in the world,” Defense Minister Israel Katz said.
He said the Arrow missile “is not just a critical defense layer against missile threats, but also a symbol of the groundbreaking abilities of Israeli industry.”
Calling the Arrow 3 the “central layer” in stopping ballistic missile threats, Defense Ministry Director-General Eyal Zamir noted that, in the early stages of the war, an Arrow 3 achieved the first-ever missile interception in space and that since then has stopped “many complex threats at a very high percentage.”
The deal, Zamir said, will also be good for the economy by providing income for thousands of households.
IAI CEO Boaz Levy said the Arrow system “is tangible evidence of Israel’s technological strength and the strategic cooperation with our partners in the USA.”
The current procurement will strengthen Israel’s defense capabilities and allow us to continue improving the system’s performance, deal with future threats and ensure a significant advantage over our enemies,” Levy said.
Katz visited an air base Tuesday that had earlier used an Arrow 3 to intercept a Houthi missile from Yemen.
“We do not rely on anyone except the IDF to protect communities and residents,” Katz said. “The threat to today is in the skies, the first missile war.”
Israel’s air defense array, which is comprised of the short-range Iron Dome, medium-range David’s Sling, and long-range Arrow, is entirely home-produced though was developed with the US that also helped finance the projects.
The Houthis have launched more than 200 missiles and 170 drones at Israel in the past year. According to the IDF, the vast majority did not reach Israel or were intercepted by the military and Israeli allies in the region.
War erupted on October 7, 2023, when the Palestinian terror group Hamas led a devastating attack on Israel that killed 1,200 people, mostly civilians.
The next day, Iran-backed Hezbollah began attacking from across the border with Lebanon. Yemen’s Houthi rebels, also backed by Iran, also joined in, firing rockets and drones at Israel.
In the past week alone, the Houthis fired three ballistic missiles at central Israel, sending millions rushing to bomb shelters. On Thursday, a missile was intercepted but the warhead still fell into Ramat Gan, collapsing a multi-story school building. On Friday, another missile made it through air defenses and hit a playground in Tel Aviv, lightly injuring 16 people.
Early Tuesday, the Arrow system successfully intercepted another missile, though a 60-year-old woman was injured when she fell as she ran to a bomb shelter.
Israel and the US have carried out strikes against Houthi targets throughout Yemen in recent days but they don’t seem to have deterred the rebel group which has vowed to keep up its attacks.
Though Israel is still battling Hamas in the Gaza Strip, its conflict with Hezbollah, which spiraled into open war, ended last month with a fragile ceasefire after the IDF decimated the terror group’s leadership and weapons stockpiles.
Iran has also twice fired missile barrages of hundreds of missiles at Israel this year, which were largely intercepted by air defenses in cooperation with the US and its regional allies. Israel has bombed Iran in retaliation, taking out some key rocket and drone sites as well as air defense systems.
Israel has carried out airstrikes against Houthi targets three times in response to the group’s attacks, the latest on Thursday.
The Iran-backed group has also carried out repeated missile and drone attacks on some 100 merchant vessels attempting to traverse the Red Sea, forcing many carriers to avoid the key waterway and hamstringing global shipping. The Houthis initially said they were going to attack Israel-linked ships but few of the vessels targeted had ties to Israel.
The Israel Defense Forces has moved towards producing its own weapons and ammunition. In January, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stressed the need for Israel to reduce its dependency on imported military equipment.
During the course of the ongoing war against Hamas, the US held up a shipment of heavy bombs while the UK paused dozens of weapons export licenses to Israel, citing humanitarian concerns about how the munitions would be used. Germany has stopped approving new war weapons exports to Israel as it deals with legal challenges against the deliveries.
