Indian website: A Yemeni missile tarnishes the reputation of “Arrow 3,” and buyers recalculate

The Indian defense-focused website “The Eurasian Times” published an extensive report that highlighted the failure of the advanced Israeli missile defense system “Arrow 3” to intercept a missile launched by the Yemeni Houthi group, which struck Ben Gurion International Airport in Tel Aviv.

Follow ups – Al-Khabar Al-Yemeni:

The report described this incident as a “gross error,” considering that it raises serious questions about the effectiveness of this defensive system, which the occupation relies on heavily, and places Germany, its first foreign buyer, before potential concerns about its capabilities.

The report indicated that the occupation army announced the launch of an interceptor missile from the “Arrow” system – designed to intercept long-range ballistic missiles – towards the Houthi missile, confirming that the target was accurately identified and warnings were issued minutes before its arrival. However, the interception failed, and the missile hit its target.

According to the report, the occupation army’s preliminary investigation concluded that there may have been a technical malfunction in the “Arrow-3” interceptor missile, suggesting that this failure may indicate a reliability problem with the system in actual combat conditions.

The report said that after the failure of “Arrow 3”, another American-made “Thaad” interceptor system was launched as a second line of defense, but it also failed to shoot down the Houthi missile, noting that this failure comes after more than a month of reports indicating the success of the “Thaad” and “Arrow” systems in intercepting two ballistic missiles launched from Yemen earlier.

The report described this incident as representing a “major security breach” in one of the most fortified Israeli sites, and casts doubt on the occupation’s ability to prevent such attacks, despite the promotion of a multi-layered missile defense system consisting of “Arrow,” “David’s Sling” and “Iron Dome.”

The report provided detailed information about the “Arrow 3” system, developed by the Israeli Aerospace Industries (IAI) and Boeing. It explained that it is designed to intercept missiles at high altitudes outside the atmosphere with a range of up to 2,400 kilometers.

The report revealed that the weakness of the “Arrow 3” system first appeared in October 2024, when Iran launched a barrage of 180 ballistic missiles, and the occupation’s Ministry of Defense then acknowledged that some missiles succeeded in penetrating the occupation’s defenses, for example, the Nevatim Air Force Base was hit more than 33 times.

The report concluded by noting that the occupation is currently investigating the latest failed interception attempt, and that Germany and other interested countries will closely monitor the results of this investigation to assess the effectiveness of this advanced missile shield in the face of growing threats, especially hypersonic missiles that “Arrow 3” appears to be struggling with.