The Defense Ministry on Wednesday canceled a test launch for the Arrow 3 missile defense system, citing a problem with its ground control's data systems.
This was the second time in a month that a test of the long-range missile interceptor system had been canceled. The previous launch was called off over safety concerns pertaining to the would-be target projectile.
The ministry said the launch was classified as a "no test" and was therefore not a failure.
"As part of a planned test of Israel's multitiered air defenses, a test of future developments to the Arrow 3 system was scheduled to take place this morning. Due to a problem in the ground system's data transmission mechanism, the interceptor was not launched and the engineers declared a 'no wwww.' This has no bearing on the Arrow 2 defense system, which is already operational in and use by the Air Defense Command, or on the Arrow 3 system delivered to the Air Force in January 2017," the Defense Ministry's statement said.
"The interceptor was not launched because of a data transfer issue," said Moshe Patel, the head of the Defense Ministry's Homa Directorate, which oversees the development of missile defenses.
"This has no bearing on the Arrow's operational aspects. Moreover, if this was an operational incident and not a test, the interceptor would have launched with no issue. If we had to intercept an Iranian threat Arrow would have been launched," he stressed.
Patel was referring to the fact that Wednesday's launch was planned as one of the most challenging tests for the Arrow defense system, as it was designed to intercept a target simulating a potential Iranian threat outside the atmosphere and hundreds of miles away, thus testing several new Arrow 3 systems.
Israel Aerospace Industries Executive VP Boaz Levy explained that shelving the launch over data issues was routine.
"This is a typical test-launch issue. We don't take unnecessary risks. It's not the best outcome, but we prefer a 'no test' situation to any other scenario."
Since the Arrow 3's test was canceled in December, the target projectile has undergone a series of improvements and it was successfully launched over the Mediterranean this morning, before the problem with the ground control system was discovered.
"We'll spend the next few weeks studying what happened and planning the next [test]. An experiment [missile] program always allows for [planning] buffers," Patel said.
During 2018, Israel plans to hold several Arrow 3 tests in Alaska. The missile defense system is being developed with the assistance of the U.S. Missile Defense Agency.
