Obama may cut Israel's participation in Arrow project

The Obama administraton has raised the prospect of selling Standard Missile-3 missile defense system, produced by Raytheon sea-based missile defense system to Israel. In return, the administration would end the current Missile Defense Agency program to develop and deploy the Arrow-3, an enhanced version of Israel's medium-tier interceptor.

SM-3, deployed on U.S. Navy cruisers, has been regarded as the most effective system to intercept enemy ballistic missiles. "SM-3 could complement Israel's existing missile defense network and the fact that its sea-based would enable the interception of ballistic missiles in the initial stage of launch," an official said. The administration offer was part of a White House plan to cut U.S. missile defense procurement and development over the next two years. Unlike the previous administration, Obama was said to be skeptical over the effectiveness of a U.S. missile defense network.

"There is pressure that whatever U.S. [missile defense] funds are left should go to American companies without any participation of foreign partners," the official said. Arrow-3 has marked a partnership between Boeing and the state-owned Israel Aerospace Industries, Middle East Newsline reported. Arrow-3, expected to be deployed by 2013, was designed to intercept missiles at an altitude of more than 100 kilometers, which would enable the destruction of enemy nuclear warheads. On April 7, the Defense Ministry reported the successful test of an enhanced Arrow-2, guided by the enhanced Green Pine radar. Officials said the interceptor, part of the U.S.-financed Arrow System Improvement Program, destroyed an Israeli-origin air-to-air missile meant to simulate an Iranian-origin Shihab-3 intermediate-range ballistic missile.

"Because of the economic crisis in the United States, they are cutting budgets and want to allocate some of funds toward purely American projects that better suit U.S. requirements," Defense Minister Ehud Barak said on April 4. "We are trying to convince them to continue funding the Arrow, rather the 'Super Arrow,' to allow us to complete development." Officials said Israel has rejected previous U.S. offers of the SM-3, an interceptor said to be five times more expensive than the Arrow. They said the Defense Ministry and the Israel Navy were uncertain over the feasibility to procure platforms large enough for SM-3. In 2009, SM-3 demonstrated its ability to destroy a cruise missile. In February 2008, the missile defense system was reported to have destroyed a satellite over the Pacific Ocean.

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