The Israeli Missile Defense Organization (IMDO), in cooperation with the US Missile Defense Agency (MDA), the IDF, and Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) successfully completed a test of the Arrow Weapon System on Wednesday. The test was part of a program to upgrade the system, the Defense Ministry said in a statement.
Taking place in central Israel, the Ministry confirmed that a test had taken place after reports of people in Ashdod seeing an interception over the city circulated.
“This test,” said IAI President and CEO Guy Bar Lev, “put the system up against future threats and generated data that our engineers will use to build the next generation of aerial defense.”
Senior officials from the US MDA participated in the test, said the ministry.
According to Bar Lev, the Arrow system is “the most advanced ballistic missile defense technology in the world.”
Israel remains in 'emergency mode' even as war lulls
Defense Minister Israel Katz said the test served as proof of Israel’s defensive strengths.
“The Arrow system has proven itself in war, successfully intercepting numerous threats from Iran and other arenas and protecting Israel's citizens,” he said, adding that Israel is “constantly upgrading its capabilities, and [staying] ready at all times, for both current and future threats.”
Ministry of Defense Director General, Maj. Gen. (Res.) Amir Baram also highlighted the system’s use during Operation Roaring Lion.
“Even now,” he said, “following our success in the Iran campaign, we remain in emergency mode, dramatically accelerating production and upgrading the system's capabilities.”
“Thanks to decisions made over the past year, Israel's interceptor stockpile keeps growing, backed by new and constantly evolving capabilities."
Since its inception in the 1980’s, the development of the program has been led by the Defense Ministry, through the IMDO and Directorate of Defense Research & Development (DDR&D), and executed with the US MDA, the statement said.
Defense companies IAI, Tomer, Elbit Systems, and Rafael Advanced Defense Systems all have a role in the development of the systems, such as the development of its fire control system, radar detection array, and more.
Currently, the Arrow 2 and Arrow 3 systems are utilized by Israel. Arrow 3, which became operational in 2017, is one of the world’s only systems capable of intercepting exoatmospheric targets, which it did for the first time in November 2023, hitting a ballistic missile fired by Yemen’s Houthi terrorists.
The systems were used extensively during the 2025’s Operation Rising Lion, in which the Defense Ministry claimed an 86% accuracy rate for Arrow 2 and Arrow 3.
During Operation Roaring Lion, the Arrow system featured heavily once more, along with the other layers of Israel’s missile defense array.
Other systems deployed by Israel include the David’s Sling, Iron Dome, and Iron Beam which was deployed in late 2025 for the first time.