Turkey wants to add Arrow to its quiver

The US Government is considering an Israeli request to allow the sale of a variant of the Arrow anti-tactical ballistic missile to Turkey.

The USA has already given Israel the go-ahead to brief Turkey about the Arrow system, which is being developed by Israel with the help of US funding.

Programme sources suggest that the USA is unlikely to approve the release of the full Israeli system. The release of a tailored version for Turkey is believed to be possible, however. The first Israeli Arrow system is due to have an initial operational capability by late 1999.

The USA agreed in April to provide additional funding to allow Israel to procure a third Arrow battery. The Arrow is intended to provide Israel with a counter to regional ballistic missile threats.

Iran, for example, is claimed to have completed a series of static tests of the powerplant for the Shihab-3 intermediate range ballistic missile. Israeli sources say that the missile will be ready for a first test launch during the second half of next year.

The Shihab-3 is based on the North Korean No-Dong missile. The sources also claim that the Iranians are developing the longer range Shihab-4, based on the Russian SS-4.

Source: Flight International