ISRAEL last week test-fired the prototype of a new generation of guided missiles designed to shoot down airborne ballistic missiles launched from land - including ones which carry nuclear or chemical warheads. The test of the so-called Hetz (Arrow) missile had been planned for some time, but has new significance because of the Gulf crisis. However, the missile will not be ready for use for another five years at the earliest.
Iraq can reach civilian targets in Israel with long-range missiles. Its missiles also pose a threat to the American forces now arriving in Saudi Arabia.
Israeli Aircraft Industries developed the Hetz to defend Israel and to collaborate with the US's Strategic Defense Initiative (star wars). The US government is paying most of the anticipated $800 million (Pounds sterling 450 million) development costs.
The company says that the missile would be the first weapon capable of destroying at a safe ...
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