U.S. and Israel test anti-missile system upgrade

Israel and the United States held a successful joint test on Tuesday of a missile interception system, Agence France-Presse reported.

The two allies tested an upgrade of the Arrow 2 ballistic missile interception system over the Mediterranean sea, the Israeli Defense Ministry said in a statement issued Tuesday.

“An Arrow 2 missile was launched and performed its flight sequence as planned,” the statement said.

Following the examination, the system was updated, a spokesperson confirmed.

The two countries participated in similar tests earlier this year and in September of last year when the United States was considering military intervention in Syria.

Israel has been working on upgrading its missile defense capabilities as a measure against long- and short-range incoming projectiles, and speeded various projects after it was hit by Iraqi Scud missiles during the 1991 Gulf War.

The system tested on Tuesday would intercept missiles similar to Iran’s Shihab-3s.

Israel accuses its arch-foe Iran of seeking to develop a nuclear warhead, a charge that Tehran denies.

The Arrow Project was first launched in 1988 as part of the then Star Wars program under President Ronald Reagan that was abandoned in 1993.

Meanwhile, Russia's defense ministry earlier released a statement reporting a missile launch from the Mediterranean Sea toward the eastern Mediterranean coast.