Israel cancels second missile defense test in a month

JERUSALEM — Israel has called off a test of an advanced missile defense system, citing a communications malfunction.

The Defense Ministry said in a statement on Wednesday that the cancellation of the Arrow-3 trial “has no impact” on already operational Arrow-2 and Arrow-3 missile defense systems. The ministry canceled a similar trial in December.

Moshe Patel, head of Israel’s missile defense arm, said that had an Iranian missile been launched at Israel, the Arrow-3 system would have still been used to intercept it.

Arrow-3 is part of the multilayered system Israel is developing to defend against both short- and mid-range rockets fired from the Gaza Strip and Lebanon, as well as Iran’s long-range missiles.

It was developed by Israel Aerospace Industries and U.S. aviation giant Boeing, and became operational in January 2017.

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