A Tale of Two Missile Defense Systems

摘要

While much has been made of the U.S. fledgling missile defense system, it is often forgotten that another country already has deployed a layered national missile defense system. Israel's Arrow Weapon System has been fielded in two batteries and provides one tier of its hoped-for defense against tactical ballistic missiles (an older version of the Patriot missile defense system provides the second tier). While the Arrow's effectiveness against missile threats is uncertain — it has never been tested against a Scud — its program designers had entirely different mindsets and objectives from their American counterparts that merit further examination.