Arrow-2

Israel's operational upper-tier interceptor for destroying tactical and medium-range ballistic missiles in the atmosphere, positioned between the exo-atmospheric Arrow 3 and David's Sling.

Overview

Arrow-2, known in Hebrew as Hetz 2, is the original operational interceptor of the jointly funded Israeli-US Arrow Weapon System. It forms an upper layer of Israel's air and missile defenses, above David's Sling and Iron Dome but below the exo-atmospheric Arrow-3 in current firing doctrine. Israel Aerospace Industries is the system's prime contractor, while Boeing manufactures interceptor components in the United States.

The two-stage, solid-propellant missile uses a directed blast-fragmentation warhead rather than the kinetic hit-to-kill mechanism employed by Arrow-3. It is intended primarily for tactical and medium-range ballistic missiles, with the EL/M-2080 Green Pine phased-array radar supplying detection and tracking data to the weapon system's battle-management center. CSIS Missile Threat gives Arrow-2 a maximum intercept range of 100 km and a ceiling of 50 km, although published performance figures differ.

Arrow-2 entered operational service in 2000 and recorded its first combat use in 2017. It subsequently participated in Israel's defense against ballistic missiles launched from Yemen and Iran. The interceptor remains in production and operational use, but Arrow-4 is being developed as its eventual replacement.

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