Profile
- Type
- Exo-atmospheric anti-ballistic missile interceptor
- Conflict side
- Israel
- Origin
- Israel and United States
- Service note
- Operational service from 2017
Air Defense
Arrow-3
Arrow-3 is the upper-tier interceptor in Israel's Arrow Weapon System, developed with U.S. support to destroy ballistic missiles outside the atmosphere. Its hit-to-kill kill vehicle, long-range engagement envelope, and integration with Israeli radar and battle-management systems make it a strategic layer above Arrow-2, David's Sling, and Iron Dome, with documented combat use against Houthi and Iranian ballistic missile attacks.
- Conflict side
- Israel and United StatesIsrael
- Built in
- Israel and United States
Service History
- In service
- Declared operational in Israel in 2017
- Used by
- Israeli Air Defense Array, German Air Force
- Wars
- Israel-Houthi Conflict, Israel-Iran Conflict
Production History
- Designer
- Israel Aerospace Industries with Israel Missile Defense Organization and U.S. Missile Defense Agency cooperation
- Designed
- Development began in the late 2000s; first flight test in 2013
- Built in
- Israel and United States
- Unit cost
- Reported around $4 million per interceptor; official procurement costs are not fully public
- Produced
- Full-rate production reported from 2017; U.S.-Israeli co-production from 2019
- Variants
- Arrow-3, Hetz-3
- Developed from
- Arrow Weapon System
- Developed into
- Arrow-4
Specifications
- Engagement layer
- Exo-atmospheric upper-tier ballistic missile defense
- Kill mechanism
- Hit-to-kill separating kinetic kill vehicle
- Propulsion
- Two-stage solid-fueled booster
- Estimated flyout range
- Up to 2,400 km according to CSIS Missile Threat
- Launch interface
- Fits a 21-inch vertical launch tube in the Arrow Weapon System
- Guidance and control
- Gimbaled electro-optical seeker with thrust-vector control for the kill vehicle
- System elements
- Interceptor, launcher, ground-based radar, and battle-management system
Conflict Usage
- Israel-Houthi Conflict
- Side: Israel and United StatesRole: Exo-atmospheric ballistic missile interception
Israeli air-defense forces used Arrow-3 on November 9, 2023, for the system's first operational interception, downing a Houthi ballistic missile fired toward Eilat over the Red Sea.
- Israel-Iran Conflict
- Side: IsraelRole: Upper-tier ballistic missile defense
During the June 2025 Israel-Iran war, open-source video evidence assessed by FPRI showed multiple Arrow-3 interceptor launches as part of Israel's ballistic missile defense effort against Iranian strikes.
Arrow-3 Images
Related Weapon Systems
David's SlingMedium- to long-range air and missile defense systemDavid's Sling is the middle tier of Israel's layered missile-defense network, co-developed by Rafael and Raytheon/RTX around the hit-to-kill Stunner interceptor. It is designed to cover threats above Iron Dome and below Arrow, including heavy rockets, cruise missiles, aircraft, drones, and tactical ballistic missiles, with recent combat use documented against rockets from Gaza and Lebanon and Iranian ballistic missiles.
Arrow-2Upper-layer anti-ballistic missile interceptorArrow-2 is the endo- and upper-atmospheric interceptor in Israel's Arrow Weapon System, built to defeat short- and medium-range ballistic missiles before impact. Developed by Israel with major U.S. cooperation, it pairs two-stage solid-propellant interceptors with Green Pine radar, battle management, and launcher elements, giving Israel an upper-layer defense below the longer-range Arrow-3 layer.
PAC-3 MSEHit-to-kill Patriot interceptor missilePAC-3 MSE is the Missile Segment Enhancement variant of Lockheed Martin's Patriot PAC-3 hit-to-kill interceptor family. It adds a larger dual-pulse solid rocket motor, larger fins, upgraded actuators, and higher performance for defeating ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, and aircraft while retaining compatibility with modern Patriot launchers.
S-350 VityazMedium-range surface-to-air missile systemThe S-350 Vityaz is a Russian mobile medium-range surface-to-air missile system developed for layered air defense against aircraft, helicopters, cruise missiles, UAVs, and some ballistic targets. In the Russia-Ukraine War it has appeared in Russian air-defense deployments near Ukraine and in later reporting from eastern Ukraine, where Ukrainian sources and defense reporting documented S-350 equipment being struck or destroyed.
S-400 TriumfLong-range mobile surface-to-air missile systemThe S-400 Triumf, NATO reporting name SA-21 Growler, is a Russian road-mobile long-range air defense system built around networked command, search radar, engagement radar, and transporter-erector-launchers. It is designed to engage aircraft, UAVs, cruise missiles, and some ballistic missile threats, and Russian S-400 batteries in occupied Crimea have been a recurring target in Ukraine's campaign against Russian air defenses.
SM-3Ship- and shore-launched exo-atmospheric ballistic missile interceptorThe SM-3 is a Standard Missile family interceptor for Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense ships and Aegis Ashore sites. Unlike area air-defense missiles built around blast-fragmentation warheads, it uses a hit-to-kill kinetic vehicle to destroy ballistic missiles in the midcourse phase outside the atmosphere, with Block IB and Block IIA variants forming a key U.S. and allied upper-tier missile-defense layer.Sources
Arrow 3Publisher: Israel Aerospace Industries | Note: Supports manufacturer background and the exo-atmospheric long-range interceptor role. | Accessed: 2026-06-20Arrow 3 (Israel)Publisher: CSIS Missile Threat | Note: Supports system description, service entry, hit-to-kill design, propulsion, launch tube, and estimated range details. | Accessed: 2026-06-20The Arrow 3 System's First Successful Operational InterceptionPublisher: Israel Defense Forces | Note: Supports Arrow-3's first operational interception, development partners, contractors, and exo-atmospheric ballistic missile role. | Accessed: 2026-06-20Arrow 3 Intercepts Houthi Missile over Red SeaPublisher: Foundation for Defense of Democracies | Note: Supports Israel-Houthi Conflict use by identifying the November 9, 2023 target as a Houthi missile fired toward Eilat. | Accessed: 2026-06-20Shallow Ramparts: Air and Missile Defenses in the June 2025 Israel-Iran WarPublisher: Foreign Policy Research Institute | Note: Supports Israel-Iran Conflict use by documenting open-source video evidence of Arrow-3 interceptor launches during the June 2025 war. | Accessed: 2026-06-20IAF Arrow-3 launch during Operation Rising LionPublisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: Supports primary image provenance; Commons lists the image under CC BY-SA 4.0 with attribution to Israel's defense development authority and Ministry of Defense. | Accessed: 2026-06-20Arrow-3 Jan-03-2013 (c)Publisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: Supports gallery image provenance; Commons identifies the image as a public-domain U.S. Missile Defense Agency work. | Accessed: 2026-06-20Arrow Weapon System Successfully Engages Ballistic Missile TargetPublisher: DVIDS | Note: Supports gallery image provenance and 2019 Arrow-3 high-altitude hit-to-kill test context; DVIDS marks the image public domain. | Accessed: 2026-06-20