Israel cancels second missile defence test in a month

JERUSALEM – Israel has called off a test of an advanced missile defence system, citing a communications malfunction.

The Defence Ministry said in a statement on Wednesday that the cancellation of the Arrow-3 trial “has no impact” on already operational Arrow-2 and Arrow-3 missile defence systems. The ministry cancelled a similar trial in December.

Moshe Patel, head of Israel’s missile defence arm, said that had “an Iranian missile” been launched at Israel, the Arrow-3 system would have still been used to intercept it.

Arrow-3 is part of the multi-layered system Israel is developing to defend against both short- and mid-range rockets fired from the Gaza Strip and Lebanon, as well as Iran’s long-range missiles.

It was developed by Israel Aerospace Industries and U.S. aviation giant Boeing, and became operational in January 2017.