Israel will test Arrow-2 off California

TEL AVIV, Israel, July 15 (UPI) -- Israel and the United States are scheduled to conduct a joint test-firing of the Arrow-2 anti-ballistic missile off the coast of California, according to U.S. officials cited in Israeli media.

The test is the first for the missile, largely funded by the Americans, involving a target with a range of more than 625 miles, the Jerusalem Post reported Wednesday.

No date was disclosed for the test, but reports said it would probably be within the next few days.

It will be the third trial conducted by Israel in the United States. Usually, the Arrow tests-firings are launched from Israel's Palmachim air base on the Mediterranean coast south of Tel Aviv.

Such tests have been limited in terms of range because of safety and security considerations stemming from the geographical constraints of the Mediterranean region.

So the upcoming U.S. test will have a particular significance in determining the accuracy of the Arrow-2 in destroying hostile ballistic missiles far from Israel's borders, one of its main missions.

The primary targets envisaged for the Arrow at present are Iran's intermediate-range Shehab ballistic missiles, so the range-oriented test will carry a message to Tehran.

In recent weeks the Israeli navy has sent a submarine and two missile boats through the Suez Canal from the Mediterranean into the Red Sea in two separate deployments.

These have been widely perceived as a warning to Iran that the Jewish state can deploy forces into the Arabia Sea within days, rather than using the much longer and time-consuming route around the southern tip of Africa and up into the Indian Ocean.

Israel's three German-built Dolphin-class submarines -- two more are on order -- have been reported to carry nuclear-tipped missiles that permit them to strike Iranian targets even if Israel is hit by Iranian missiles.

It is not clear whether the unusual naval deployments and the long-range Arrow test are connected.

In May the Americans were reported to have agreed to provide the funding for the development and production of the Arrow-3, an advanced variant of the system that is currently deployed in Israel as the country's first line of defense against hostile missiles and part of a multilayered defense shield.

Arrow-3 will have a longer range than the current variant and will be able to intercept missiles at higher altitudes and farther away from Israel.

An enhanced version of the Arrow-2 is currently being tested in Israel in conjunction with an advanced model of the Israeli-developed Green Pine radar system.