The next trial of the Arrow 3, Israel's main future anti-missile defense weapons system, has been postponed for an unexplained reason, according to a report in the US weekly "Space News" that will be published tomorrow.
Development of the Arrow 3 missile is already one year behind schedule. Now "Space News' says that the flight trial that had been planned for this month has been postponed until the end of the year. Arrow 3 technical staff declined to specify the reason for the delay but it is believed to be serious because the missile has been returned to base from its launcher to an installation belonging to Israel Aerospace Industries Ltd. (IAI) (TASE: ARSP.B1), the program's lead contractor, for repairs.
A Pentagon source told "Space News" that the flight trial, that was meant to be the first in the development of the Arrow 3, has been postponed "because of additional necessary work to solve a problem." Defense Ministry Israel Missile Defense Organization director Yair Ramati updated the US missile defense agency chief Lt. Gen. Patrick O'Reilly about the latest problem at a conference in Berlin last week.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on September 16, 2012
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