WASHINGTON — This week an Iranian-built missile was launched from a site in Yemen, aimed at Eilat in Israel which is around 1,600 km away. It was notable for two reasons, first, it broke the record for the longest-range launch of ballistic missiles from ground batteries, and then secondly, it was the first operational interception of a ballistic missile by Israel’s Arrow missile defense system.
According to a report first published by the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, the missile fired from Yemen, is reportedly a Qader missile – an upgraded version of the Iranian Shahab 3. It is the Arrow type that was originally designed for combat since its development began after the Gulf War in 1991; then used when Israeli cities were hit by Iraqi Scud missiles that evaded the old Patriot interceptors used at the time.
