Arrow 2 Anti-Ballistic Missile Test

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[Skwid]

An Arrow anti-ballistic missile is launched as part of the on going United States/Israel Arrow System Improvement Program (ASIPP) at Point Mugu Sea Range in California, July 29, 2004. The missile successfully intercepted a short-range target during tests, this was the twelfth Arrow intercept test and the seventh test of the complete Arrow system. The objective of the test was to demonstrate the Arrow system's improved performance against a target that represents a threat to Israel. The test represented a realistic scenario that could not have been tested in Israel due to test-field safety restrictions.

The two-stage missile is equipped with solid propellant booster and sustainer rocket motors. The missile uses an initial burn to carry out a vertical hot launch from the container and a secondary burn to sustain the missile's trajectory towards the target at a maximum speed of Mach 9, or 2.5km/s. Thrust vector control is used in the boost and sustainer phases of flight. At the ignition of the second stage sustainer motor, the first stage assembly separates.

The Arrow missile is launched before the threat missile's trajectory and intercept point are accurately known. As more trajectory data becomes available, the optimum intercept point is more precisely defined and the missile is guided towards the optimum intercept point.

The kill vehicle section of the missile, containing the warhead, fusing and the terminal seeker, is equipped with four aerodynamically controlled moving fins to give low altitude interception capability. The warhead is a high explosive directed blast fragmentation warhead developed by Rafael, which is capable of destroying a target within a 50m radius. The dual mode missile seeker has a passive infrared seeker for the acquisition and tracking of tactical ballistic missiles and an active radar seeker used to home on air breathing targets at low altitudes. The infrared seeker is an indium antimonide focal plane array developed by Raytheon (formerly Amber Engineering).

The intercept altitudes are from a minimum of 10km up to a maximum of 50km. The maximum intercept range is approx. 90km.

[Skwid]

A Shahab-3 killer?

[backhoe]

Cool. Way cool. I covered this a while back- if the post is still open ( after 9-11 ) I will crosslink to it:

-Israel's Arrow Anti-Missile System and the THEL...--

[Skwid]

Wow! Gold Mine! Thanks!

[backhoe]

Thanks for looking. I suspect our ABM efforts will benefit greatly from the ground Israel has already covered.

[Grzegorz 246]

Great weapon, but It has rather close range, so it may provide protection only in tactical level.

[sukhoi-30mki]

It's the only ABM which provides (relatively) high altitude protection as of now & could be useful not just just against tactical ballistic missiles,till the US NMD components come online,which would be atleast 4 years away.

[Grzegorz 246]

I heard also that probably Russian S-300 and S-400 are able to destroy tactical ballistic missiles.

[sukhoi-30mki]

Yes Ive also read that the S-300 & S-400 could hit TBMs(something in which most international analysts give them an advantage over the Patriot)-what I meant is that the ARROW has the best chance(even that is not definite among all ABMs as of now to hit a strategic/semi strategic ballistic missiles(like the 'Shihab-3'),given their much higher altitude intercept capability & detection capability.

PS-If Israel sold the Arrow system to India(which wanted it ,but the Americans were not exactly comfortable)-it would have been integrated with the S-300 ,which many reports say arrived in India from Russia during the Kargil war(with Pakistan) of 1999.India has already acquired the Green Pine radar ,which is an integral part of the ARROW battery & will start receiving Aerostat early warning blimps by next year.Given that India is Israel's largest arms buyer(largest seller to India after Russia),I don't rule out the sale of the ARROW & integration with the S-300,which would be a unique event.

[Grzegorz 246]

"what I meant is that the ARROW has the best chance(even that is not definite among all ABMs as of now to hit a strategic/semi strategic ballistic missiles(like the 'Shihab-3'),given their much higher altitude intercept capability & detection capability."

It's no doubt that this is great weapon. It can be very useful for a small country like Israel, but it has too close range for a big country like USA. It could protect for example only several big cities and that's why I was talking about tactical level defense.

"PS-If Israel sold the Arrow system to India(which wanted it ,but the Americans were not exactly comfortable)-it would have been integrated with the S-300 ,which many reports say arrived in India from Russia during the Kargil war(with Pakistan) of 1999."

I have always liked India more than Pakistan. Anyway India is democratic country.