Keret: Progress being made toward operational missile. US
participation in financing to be reduced to 50% only in future
stages.
The "Arrow (Arrow) 2" missile, namely the operational version of the
anti-ballistic-missile missile, was launched today from the Air Force
launching base at Palmachim. The test was successfully completed and
Moshe Keret, general manager of the Israel Aircraft Industry (IAI),
said this represented progress toward the operational missile.
This was the second launch of the Arrow 2, and the ninth to date in
the frame of the program. Launched at about 3 p.m., the missile
performed a test flight only for about 50 seconds, successfully
transmitted the vital data for determining the success of the test, and
was thereupon destroyed by remote control.
The cost of the launch in the Arrow program is about $10 million.
The US financing for the Arrow program will be, at the succeeding
stages, not more than 50% of the entire amount of financing, as
compared with a participation rate of 72% provided to date by the
United States for the program. Accordingly, the Israeli investment in
the project will increase as the project progresses towards serial
manufacture.
The Ministry of Defence assesses that Arrow missile replenishment
will commence in 1998