Arrow anti-missile system debuts, THAAD test successful

JERUSALEM [MENL] -- The Israeli defense industry presented a model of its Arrow anti-missile-missile at the Le Bourget Paris air show, which opened Saturday.

On Thursday, the Pentagon successfully tested the Theater High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) missile, designated to replace the Patriots. The first succesful test of the THAAD missile was conducted at the White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico.

An official U.S. Army statement said, "the Hera target, which simulated a Scud ballistic missile such as those seen during Operation Desert Storm, was destroyed on impact. All THAAD elements participated, demonstrating integrated performance of the entire system. The test was the tenth in a planned series of 13 Program Definition and Risk Reduction (PDRR) flight tests to verify the THAAD prototype design and performance of the system components."

Defense Minister Moshe Arens, who opened the Israeli pavillion Sunday said that "Israeli defense industries are, today, at the cutting edge of world technology on the eve of the millennium and are able to present a wide variety of high-quality technological products."

This is first time the Arrow is to be exhibited but it will not be available on the open market.

The Arrow is a joint U.S. - Israeli $2 billion project. It is expected to be operational by the end of the year, "but it is not for sale," Ilan Biran, Direrctor-General of the Ministry of Defense said.

Biran said that two or three Arrow batteries could protect the majority of Israeli citizens from missile atacks emanating from Iraq, Iran or Syria.

During the Gulf War in 1991, the U.S.- made Patriot missiles proved ineffective against Iraqi missiles.

The Pentagon is also working on a project to produce airborne laser-guided missiles but Penatgon sources said it will be at least a decade before the technology is operational. Laser rays will pierce a tiny hole in the outer shell of the missile while it is still in the launch phase. It will then explode in the launch pad. Pentagon sources said the new missile technology will act as a deterrent to launching missiles with biological or chemical warheads.

Eighteen Israeli defense companies are participating in the Paris air show. The main emphasis is on high-technology systems ranging from pilotless reconnaisance drones to anti-ballistic defense systems; anti-tank, air-to-air and air-to-ground missiles; command and control systems; simulators and system upgrades for Western and Russian aircraft; helicopters and armored vehicles.