Israel conducted this week what it described a successful test launch of a missile intended to destroy incoming rockets.
The test of the Arrow 2 anti-missile was carried out Tuesday off the coast of Israel, in the presence of Israeli and American experts overseeing the project.
As intended by project engineers, the missile destroyed itself a minute after its successful launch.
As in a previous test-launching in July, the missile’s ability to target incoming missiles was not tested.
“The preliminary results of the test indicate that all systems of the missile operated well,” Israel’s Defense Ministry said in a statement.
The two-stage, solid-fuel missile system, which the United States is helping fund, is expected to be operational in 1997.
Prime Minister Shimon Peres praised Tuesday’s successful test, saying in a statement that the project was a technological breakthrough on a global level.
Israeli military experts have cited the country’s need for a dependable anti- missile system.
Their arguments found added strength after the 1991 Gulf War, when Iraqi Scuds Struck Israeli cities.
The American-built Patriot missiles used at the time have been widely criticized as flawed and ineffective.
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