Israel Plans Interceptor Missile Test and Gives Neighbors Early Notice

Middle East: Israel Plans Interceptor Missile Test and Gives Neighbors Early Notice

 JERUSALEM — Israel, in an unusual move, announced on Thursday that it would soon conduct the first test of an advanced antiballistic missile system designed to intercept incoming missiles from enemies like Syria and Iran.
Its departure from the traditional hush-hush approach to such tests is meant, at least in part, to avoid misunderstandings by other countries in the region and by Israelis themselves in the current highly charged atmosphere surrounding Iran’s nuclear program. Israel has repeatedly stated that it will not allow Iran to reach nuclear weapons capacity and that it retains the option of a military strike against Iran’s nuclear facilities as a last resort. Any such action would invite retaliation, including the likelihood of missiles fired at Israel.
With tensions already running high, some analysts have warned of the dangers of a miscalculation.
In November, jittery Israelis jammed emergency telephone lines after the country carried out an unannounced test, firing what experts said was a long-range ballistic missile out to sea from an Air Force base just south of Tel Aviv during the morning rush, feeding already feverish speculation in the news media about Israel’s intentions.
Itzhak Kaya, who leads the Arrow missile program at the government-owned Israel Aerospace Industries, announced the test of the Arrow 3 antiballistic missile system at a military and aviation conference near Tel Aviv, and Israel Aerospace issued a statement.
The Arrow program is being developed in partnership with the United States. At least one or two tests of different components are carried out every year, according to Doron Suslik, deputy corporate vice president for communications at Israel Aerospace, in coordination with Israel’s Ministry of Defense, the United States Missile Defense Agency and other agencies and subcontractors involved with the project.
Mr. Suslik said the test, which is expected to take place in the next few weeks or months, will be what industry experts call a “fly out.” An advanced Arrow 3 missile will be programmed with flight instructions and launched over the sea. It is to explode after a short flight, without intercepting an incoming missile.
Iran insists that its nuclear program is for peaceful civilian purposes, but Israel, the United States and other Western powers believe the program is designed to give Tehran the ability to produce nuclear weapons. The Obama administration has been pushing to tighten economic sanctions on Iran, but Israel worries that the effort might be coming too late.
On Wednesday, under tremendous economic pressure, North Korea announced that it would halt uranium enrichment and nuclear weapons tests in exchange for American food aid, but Israel’s deputy foreign minister, Danny Ayalon, cautioned against drawing any parallel with Iran.
“North Korea is a small and weak state,” Mr. Ayalon said Thursday in an interview with Israel’s Army Radio. “If it had a nuclear bomb or two in its cellar it would only be for economic blackmail. Iran, on the other hand, has global range, and its motivations are ideological.”