Exo‑atmospheric missile defense systems are vital because they intercept ballistic missiles in space before re‑entry.
By Hezy Laing
Israel is one of only a handful of nations—alongside the United States, Russia, and China—that possesses operational exo‑atmospheric missile defense systems that target enemy ballistic missiles, a capability that places it in an elite strategic club.
Ballistic missiles are dangerous because they can deliver nuclear or large conventional warheads across vast distances at extreme speeds, and they are hard to hit because they travel through space and re‑enter the atmosphere at hypersonic velocities, often using decoys and unpredictable trajectories.
Exo‑atmospheric missile defense systems are vital today because they intercept ballistic missiles in space before re‑entry, neutralizing nuclear or long‑range threats at their most vulnerable stage.
Israel’s flagship system is the Arrow 3, known in Hebrew as Hetz 3, jointly developed by Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) and Boeing, with funding and technical support from the U.S. Missile Defense Agency.
Arrow 3 is designed to intercept long‑range ballistic missiles outside the Earth’s atmosphere, at altitudes exceeding 100 kilometers.
It is a two‑stage, hypersonic interceptor equipped with inertial navigation and a gimbaled seeker, capable of neutralizing threats in space before they re‑enter the atmosphere.
The system was declared operational in Israel in 2017 and has since been tested successfully against simulated ballistic targets.
In December 2025, Israel delivered the first operational Arrow 3 battery to the German Air Force at Holzdorf Air Base, south of Berlin, completing a €4 billion ($4.6 billion) deal signed in September 2023.
This was Israel’s largest defense export in history and marked the first time Arrow 3 was deployed outside Israel and the United States.
The ceremony was attended by senior officials including Defense Ministry Director General Amir Baram and IAI CEO Boaz Levy, underscoring the system’s geopolitical significance.
Germany’s acquisition gives Europe its first exo‑atmospheric interceptor, strengthening NATO’s defense posture against Russian and Iranian missile threats.
Arrow 3 has already proven its operational value.
In February 2024, during the Iran–Israel conflict in the Red Sea region, the system successfully intercepted ballistic missiles launched toward Israeli territory, demonstrating its effectiveness under combat conditions.
The Arrow program itself dates back to the early 1990s, with Arrow 1 and Arrow 2 providing atmospheric interception, while Arrow 3 expanded the envelope into space.
Work is already underway on Arrow 4, intended to counter emerging hypersonic threats.
By fielding Arrow 3, Israel joins the United States (with systems like Ground‑Based Midcourse Defense), Russia (A‑135 and A‑235), and China (HQ‑19) as the only nations with proven exo‑atmospheric missile defense.
For a country of just nine million people, Israel’s achievement highlights its technological prowess and strategic necessity, ensuring it can defend against long‑range ballistic and potentially nuclear threats while also exporting cutting‑edge security solutions to allies.
