Vol. 71/No. 16      April 23, 2007

Tel Aviv seeks to preserve its ability to use its formidable nuclear arsenal as a club in the region, even if other countries in the area eventually build their own nuclear weapons. The Israeli military is developing other systems to blunt the effectiveness of conventional warheads, like the Scud and Katyusha missile.

The Arrow system successfully hit its target—a ballistic missile similar to an Iranian-built Shihab missile—in a nighttime test February 11, the Israeli military announced. The system is half-financed by the U.S. government and is partially built by U.S. defense contractor Boeing.

Another system, called David’s Sling, is designed to intercept medium-range missiles. The system Iron Dome is aimed at stopping short-range Kassam and Katyusha rockets—4,000 of which struck Israel during the recent Israeli war Lebanon.
 
 
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