Israel's upgraded Arrow air defence system, designed to blow up ballistic missiles in space, could be rushed into deployment before its 2014-15 target date, a senior officer said on Thursday. Partly funded by the United States, Arrow III is envisaged as the future Israeli bulwark against Iran and Syria, with shorter-range interceptors providing protection against rockets favoured by neighbouring Lebanese and Palestinian guerrillas.
Political turmoil in the Middle East has focused Israel's crisis planning and a senior military officer, speaking during a rare media tour of Arrow's command centre on a base down the coast from Tel Aviv, predicted a tighter production timeline. "We've already shown how we can get systems out ahead of schedule when there's a need," he said, referring to Israel's Iron Dome interceptor, which shot down several Katyushas fired from Gaza last month during what was billed as an accelerated field trial. Arrow's manufacturers had slated the new version for 2014 or 2015. But the officer, who could not be identified under military guidelines, said: "Don't be surprised if it's sooner."
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