Israel has successfully tested its Arrow 3 ballistic missile shield, partly funded by the US and intended to deter long-range weapons held by the likes of Iran and Hezbollah. The Arrow system is a joint project between IAI and the US aviation giant Boeing. Each Arrow 3 missile costs about $2.2 million. The latest system hit targets in space, meant to simulate a nuclear or chemical weapon that Iran, Syria or Hezbollah could launch. The missile flies into the atmosphere, where it splits up into ‘kamikaze’ satellites that lock onto and eliminate targets.

Arrow 3 is the top-tier system in Israel’s missile shield arsenal. The country’s lowest-tier defense is the short-range Iron Dome interceptor. Next year Israel will present David’s Sling – a system intended to intercept mid-range targets. Although this summer’s nuclear deal with Iran has somewhat calmed nerves in the region, Israel – which fought a bloody war against Hamas in Gaza in 2014 – is continuing a policy of viewing its regional neighbors with suspicion.

Israel strongly opposed a nuclear deal struck in July between Iran and major powers, arguing it would not block its regional rival’s path to atomic weapons.