Arrow II ABM battery

 military, missile, Israel Defense Forces (IDF)

Arrow II ABM battery, 6 Launchers visible
The Arrow or Hetz (Hebrew: חץ‎, pronounced [ˈχet͡s]) is a family of anti-ballistic missiles designed to fulfill an Israeli requirement for a theater 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, development of the system began in 1986 and has continued since, drawing some contested criticism. Undertaken by Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) and Boeing, it is overseen by the Israeli Ministry of Defence's "Homa" (Hebrew: חומה‎, pronounced [χoma], "rampart") administration and the U.S. Missile Defense Agency.

The Arrow system consists of the joint production hypersonic Arrow anti-missile interceptor, the Elta EL/M-2080 "Green Pine" early-warning AESA radar, the Tadiran Telecom "Golden Citron" ("Citron Tree") C3I center, and the Israel Aerospace Industries "Brown Hazelnut" ("Hazelnut Tree") launch control center. The system is transportable, as it can be moved to other prepared sites.

Following the construction and testing of the Arrow 1 technology demonstrator, production and deployment began with the Arrow 2 version of the missile. The Arrow is considered one of the most advanced missile defense programs currently in existence. It is the first operational missile defense system specifically designed and built to intercept and destroy ballistic missiles.

The first Arrow battery was declared fully operational in October 2000. Although several of its components have been exported, the Israeli Air Defense Network within the Israeli Air Force (IAF) of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) is currently the sole user of the complete Arrow system.

www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/israel/palmachim....