Israel’s defense tech should worry Iranians, says IAI head

Iran has good reason to be concerned by Israel’s defense capabilities, a senior engineer at the Israel Aerospace Industries, a government-owned company that manufactures military and civilian aircraft and products, said on Saturday.

“We are developing some of the the most advanced systems designed to give the fullest most and hermetic protection possible in the face of this kind of threat,” said Inbal Kreiss, speaking at a cultural event in the southern city of Beersheba.

“The Iranians should of course be worried by Israel’s defense capabilities,” she said. “We are the leader in this type of technology.”

“We are working to develop these defense systems in order to protect ourselves,” Kreiss added. “We’re constantly trying to stay ahead of the newest technologies.”

Asked by the event’s moderator what she thought about Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s repeatedly expressed concerns over a potentially nuclear-armed Iran, Kreiss said lightly that the Israeli leader can sleep easy.

“Netanyahu can count to ‘one’ before going to bed each night,” she said.

Kreiss serves as IAI’s Deputy General Manager of its Systems Missiles & Space Division, where she leads the development of Arrow 3, Israel’s newest anti-ballistic missile interceptor system.

The advanced system, which Israel has been developing with the United States since 2008, is a major part of the multi-layered air defense array that Israel has designed to protect itself against a range of missile threats — from short-range rockets fired from the Gaza Strip and Lebanon, to longer-range threats like a missile launch from Iran.

The Arrow 3 is designed to shoot down intercontinental ballistic missiles outside the atmosphere, intercepting the weapons and their nuclear, biological or chemical warheads close to their launch sites.

In December, Israel conducted its first successful test firing of the Arrow 3, in what the Defense Ministry called a “major milestone” in Israeli missile defense technology.