The United States successfully tested a missile-killer that could be integrated into Israel’s strategic defense system.
The U.S. Army’s Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) shot down a Scud-type missile near Hawaii under controlled conditions Saturday, the fourth time the device has aced such a test.
An Israeli was among foreign officials observing the new test. Israel may eventually incorporate the THAAD in a multi-layered missile-defense system that it is developing jointly with the Pentagon.
Currently, that system envisages using Israel’s Arrow II missile-killer for intercepting ballistic threats, the David’s Sling for medium-range rockets and the Iron Dome for short-range rockets.
“Arrow takes care of very high altitudes while THAAD takes care of high altitudes. They could definitely work in tandem,” former Israeli air force chief Eytan Ben-Eliahu told Channel 10 television.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.