Wes Rumbaugh
Q1: What was the U.S. role in intercepting missiles in the Iranian attack on Israel?
A1: On October 1, Iran fired over 180 ballistic missiles at multiple targets in Israel. The attacks reportedly included a mix of Ghadr and Emad missiles. Iran also claimed that the salvo included Fattah-1 missiles, which it touts as an advanced “hypersonic” weapon but is more accurately described as a terminally maneuvering ballistic missile.
Israel conducted the bulk of the defense engagements using a mixture of Arrow 2 and Arrow 3 interceptors. The Arrow 2 engages targets in the upper atmosphere, while the Arrow 3 is an exo-atmospheric interceptor, used to engage longer-range ballistic missiles while they transit space. Both interceptors are the result of extensive cooperation and U.S. aid to Israel dating back to the 1980s. Initial damage assessments suggest a reasonable, but not unqualified, success for the defenses with a limited number of missile strikes hitting both military and civilian infrastructure. Considering the size of the missile salvo, however, the assessed damage levels provide evidence of significant interceptor success.
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