Israel's U.S.-backed Arrow-3 air defense system, billed as a bullwark against the ballistic missiles fielded by Iran and Syria, has passed a live interception test, the Israeli Defense Ministry said on Sunday.
The test was carried out with U.S. Missile Defense Agency (MDA) at Pacific Spaceport Complex-Alaska (PSCA) in Kodiak, Alaska.
Earlier, officials had indicated a test might take place "soon" but there was no indication it will occur so early. It is not not clear if the test took place on Sunday or Saturday.
The Arrow-3 missile intercepts incoming warheads above the earth's atmosphere. This insures that even warheads carrying weapons of mass destruction will be harmless and not impact population on the ground.
Jointly manufactured by Boeing Co and Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), Arrow-3 passed its first full interception test over the Mediterranean sea in 2015 and was deployed in Israel in 2017.
The joint U.S.-Israeli system also features an American AN-TPY2 radar, which participated in the test and successfully demonstrated operational connectivity between the crucial components.
Reporting by Reuters, Jerusalem Post