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The Houthis launched another rocket at Israel overnight, disregarding U.S. President Donald Trump’s warning that any attack by the Yemenite militants would be considered Iranian aggression and met with "great force."
Israel and the U.S. have repeatedly threatened direct strikes on Iran’s oil or nuclear sites following Iran’s large-scale missile attacks in April and October. During these assaults, Iran fired hundreds of projectiles at Israel, aiming to devastate military sites and cause casualties.
Fortunately, Israel’s Arrow defense system, developed by Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), successfully intercepted the missiles.
“We knew that the system is very well tested. We knew that we have the best technology, but we never faced a real threat yet,” said Boaz Levy, CEO of Israel Aerospace Industries. “And when more than 100 missiles arrived from Iran toward Israel, attacking populated areas, it was a moment of concern. But we knew that everything would work. And after a few seconds, when we saw the first interceptor launch toward the threat, we knew that it would be okay.”
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INTERCEPTING THREATS
(ILTV)
Last week, ILTV visited IAI to explore its latest technological advancements and financial growth. The company’s net income surged 55% last year, reaching $493 million in 2024. As part of the visit, ILTV conducted an exclusive interview with Levy, a key figure in the development of the Arrow defense system more than three decades ago.
The Arrow 2 and Arrow 3 systems played a critical role in Israel’s defense during the April and October attacks. Now, IAI is finalizing the Arrow 4, a next-generation system designed to enhance missile interception at both high and low altitudes.
“We'll be able to do a shoot, look, shoot mechanism in order to encounter any threats,” Levy explained. “Of course, the technology has been changed, the threat has been changed, and we are putting a lot of new features in these interceptors.”
The Arrow defense system was originally developed in response to a question posed by the late U.S. President Ronald Reagan: “Can you hit a bullet with a bullet?"
“It was like a technological answer to a future problem of intercepting ballistic missiles,” Levy said. “Nobody thought about the scenario like we had in Iran. Nobody thought about a synchronized salvo that we had that night of April 14. But the system was designed robust enough, and thus this robustness gave us the solution of intercepting so many incoming missiles.”
Looking ahead, Levy is confident that IAI’s engineers are continuing to push the boundaries of missile defense technology.
“I believe that a company like IAI, like Israel Aerospace Industries, that is leading this effort for the last 35 years or so, has the responsibility to predict the future,” he said. “Engineers are working these days about the future capabilities, giving us the new design for the new types of threats that will appear in the near and far future.
“It’s a matter of understanding the capabilities of the threats and trying to design the right and optimal solutions for that, looking toward the full scenario, from acquiring the threat till the interception of it.”