JERUSALEM — Israel and the United States have begun developing the Arrow-4 missile defense system that includes next-generation interceptors and will replace the Arrow-2 over the next decades, according to a statement from Israel’s Defense Ministry.

“The Arrow weapon system, which was one of the first in the world to intercept ballistic missiles, will be upgraded with a significant capability, produced by Israel Aerospace Industries, in the form of the Arrow-4 interceptor. The interceptor will be the most advanced of its kind in the world and will provide a new layer of defense to the State of Israel and its citizens,” said Jacob Galifat, general manager IAI’s MLM Division.

The MLM Division is the principal contractor for the Arrow weapon system and is a design, development and system engineering organization, according to IAI, which is the prime contractor for Arrow-4′s development.

Work by the Israel Missile Defense Organization and the U.S. Missile Defense Agency on the Arrow-4 comes 30 years after Israel was threatened by Scud missiles fired from Iraq. The system will be designed to prepare Israel for the future battlefield and ever-evolving threats in the Middle East and around the world, Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz said Thursday.

The system is also expected to counter threats both inside and beyond the atmosphere, making it endoatmospheric and exoatmospheric.

“Along with the development of vital offensive capabilities, the defense establishment is constantly working to defend Israel’s skies against ballistic threats through the ongoing development of its multilayered [missile defense] array. The development of Arrow-4 together with our American partners will result in a technological and operational leap forward,” Gantz said.

He congratulated the Israel Missile Defense Organization, which is currently marking its 30th anniversary, and praised the MDA and IAI for their work. IAI’s recently appointed CEO, Boaz Levy, played a key role in developing the Arrow-2 and the Arrow-3.

Concept work for the Arrow-4 dates back to 2017 when Israel sought a future interceptor that would extend beyond the Arrow-2. American firm Boeing was a partner in developing the Arrow-3 and has played a role in the Arrow program along with Israeli company Elbit Systems.

IAI released a video to mark the Arrow-4′s development by harkening back to the Gulf War-era threats that prompted the creation of the Arrow-2 and the Israel Missile Defense Organization. It noted that the first operational Arrow battery was delivered to the Israeli Air Force in 2000 and development of Arrow-3 began in 2009. Arrow-3 was delivered in 2017, and in March of that year it was used to intercept a surface-to-air missile that was fired from Syria.

The announcement of the Arrow-4 comes a day after U.S. President Joe Biden spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to discuss their common adversary Iran. Israeli media interpreted the announcement as a message to Iran, days after reports indicated Iran might transfer ballistic missiles to Iraq.

“Arrow-4 is a cooperative program between the MDA and IMDO that illustrates U.S. commitment to assisting the government of Israel in upgrading its national missile defense capability to defend the State of Israel from emerging threats,” said MDA Director Vice Adm. Jon Hill. Hill was appointed in 2019 and is the 11th director of the MDA, which is charged with developing, delivering and sustaining layered capabilities to defend deployed forces, the United States, and its allies and partners against ballistic missile attacks.

Under the terms of the current memorandum of understanding between Israel and the U.S., Israel received $500 million in annual funding for its multilayered air defense. This includes the Iron Dome, David’s Sling, the Arrow-2 and the Arrow-3.

A successful Arrow-3 test was carried out in Alaska in July 2019. Israel touted new capabilities for the Iron Dome in early February, tested the Medium-Range Surface-to-Air Missile with India in early January, and conducted a sophisticated drill in December 2020 in which Iron Dome and David’s Sling interceptors were fired.

“Over the last three decades, we have developed one of the most advanced missile defense arrays in the world, built of four layers with demonstrated capabilities. These capabilities are being constantly improved against emerging threats. Arrow-4 will have unprecedented flight and interception capabilities, ensuring the security of the State of Israel,” said Moshe Patel, the head of the Israel Missile Defense Organization.


Israel and the US have begun developing the Arrow 4, the latest generation in the family of Israeli anti-ballistic missiles and an essential part of the country’s multi-layered defense system, Israel’s Defense Ministry announced Thursday.

“The defense establishment is working round the clock to shield Israel’s skies from ballistic threats,” Defense Minister Benny Gantz said, praising the joint development with US partners. “It will bring a technological and operational leap to the future battlefield,” he added.

According to Gantz, the Arrow 4 anti-ballistic missile will include upgraded capabilities and will join the existing Arrow family to “address a wide range of evolving threats in the region” adding that it is expected to replace the Arrow 2 in the coming decades.

Vice Admiral Jon Hill, director of the US Missile Defense Agency, said the Arrow 4 joint development operation “expresses the United States’ commitment to assist the State of Israel in strengthening its national defense system against the missile threat.”

Illustration: Arrow 4 air defense system missile (Ministry of Defense)

Israel says the Arrow system is a critical element in its multi-layered defense system, which includes powerful radar systems, the Iron Dome anti-rocket system, the Arrow 2 and the Arrow 3, which entered operational use in 2017. The existing systems have undergone a series of improvements with successful interception tests in Israel and Alaska, according to the Defense Ministry.

“Arrow 4 will have extraordinary flight and interception capabilities, to ensure Israel will remain one step ahead of the enemy,” said Moshe Patel, head of the Israeli Missile Defense Organization.

Earlier in February, the Israel Defense Forces and the United States European Command launched a joint air defense exercise, dubbed Juniper Falcon, focused on the threat of ballistic missile attack.

In January, Iran held a series of ballistic missile drills, amid tensions with the US.

Iran has a missile capability of up to 2,000 kilometers (1,250 miles), far enough to reach Israel and US military bases in the region. Last January, after the US killed a top Iranian general in Baghdad, Tehran retaliated by firing a barrage of ballistic missiles at two Iraqi bases housing US troops, resulting in brain concussion injuries to dozens of them.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani accused Israel of being behind the November killing of the country’s top nuclear scientist, Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, the alleged mastermind of Iran’s rogue nuclear weapons program, and has vowed to avenge his death.


A key design feature for the new Arrow will be winglets, helping it to intercept threats inside the atmosphere, in particular hypersonic missiles.

“Israel needs to plan its missiles defense capabilities for many years to come. At this point there is no hypersonic missile threat on Israel, but when you design such an advanced interceptor, this capability should be included as some countries develop such missiles and in the middle east you must expect the unexpected,” an expert who spoke that with BD on condition of anonymity said.


The US and Israel have begun working on their next-gen air defense system, ‘Arrow-4’, which would reportedly have “unprecedented interception capabilities”. The weapon would eventually replace the Arrow-2 and MIM-104 Patriot systems currently in service.

Jacob Galifat, Israel Aerospace Industry’s general manager, said in a statement, “The Arrow weapon system, which was one of the first in the world to intercept ballistic missiles, will be upgraded with a significant capability, produced by Israel Aerospace Industries, in the form of the Arrow-4 interceptor. The interceptor will be the most advanced of its kind in the world and will provide a new layer of defense to the State of Israel and its citizens.”

According to the joint development terms, the state-owned IAI is the prime contractor for the Arrow missile program while Boeing is stated to be working from the American side.

Vice Admiral Jon Hill, director of the US Missile Defense Agency, said that the Arrow 4 shows the American commitment to Israel in strengthening its national defense systems against ballistic missile threats, reported The Times of Israel.

The Arrow is a family of anti-ballistic missiles designed to fulfill an Israeli requirement for a missile defense system that would be more effective against ballistic missiles than the MIM-104 Patriot surface-to-air missile.

Jointly funded and produced by Israel and the United States, the development of the system began in 1986 and has continued since, drawing some contested criticism.

The state of Israel has always been one of the few countries to have developed the most potent and effective air defense systems globally, in view of the continuous and constant threats from its Arab neighbors and nearby Palestine.

In order to protect itself from daily missile and rocket artillery attacks, the Israeli companies have developed the most combat-proven and effective air defense system, called ‘Iron Dome’.

Israel intends to arm itself with a multi-layered BMD (Ballistic Missile Defense) shield, which includes Arrow 2, Arrow 3, Barak-8, Iron Dome, and laser-based Iron Beam.

A similar project to the Arrow series, named ‘David’s Sling’ is also being jointly developed by the Israeli defense contractor Rafael Advanced Defense Systems and the American defense contractor Raytheon, designed to intercept enemy planes, drones, tactical ballistic missiles, medium- to long-range rockets and cruise missiles, fired at ranges from 40 km (24.85 miles) to 300 km (186.41 miles).While both the Arrow-4 and David’s Sling are meant to replace the existing MIM-104 Patriot batteries in service, the latter is in a more advanced development stage, while work on Arrow-4 has just begun.

According to Dov Raviv, known as “the father of the Arrow anti-ballistic missile”, a single Arrow interceptor (in-service versions) has a 90 percent probability of destroying a target missile at the highest altitude possible.

In case of failure, two more interceptors can be launched towards the target at short time intervals.

If the first one destroys the target, the second can be directed to another target. Using this technique, three independent interception possibilities are provided which raise the interception probability from 90 percent to 99.9 percent, thus satisfying the leakage rate requirement.

The Arrow also has the capability to simultaneously intercept a salvo of more than five incoming missiles, with the target missiles arriving within a 30-second span. Such capability is currently possessed only by the US and Russia. According to Raviv, the Arrow can even discriminate between a warhead and a decoy.