After repeated battles against Iran, Israel is pushing its top ballistic-missile shield into the next generation, with one interceptor nearing serial production and another moving toward full-scale development.
“We are in the very, very advanced stage of development of Arrow 4,” Moshe Patel, director and general manager of the Israeli Missile Defense Organization, told Business Insider in an interview this week.
Patel, who oversees Israeli air defense developments, said that the Arrow 4 interceptor will “soon be entered [into] serial production capability” and that the process has already begun. He declined to offer specific dates or a timeline.
Serial production refers to a repeatable manufacturing process, rather than one-off production of prototypes or test articles.
Arrow 4, which will be produced in Israel and the US, is the successor to the Arrow 2 interceptor. Patel said it will be a modernized version of the older variant, equipped with artificial intelligence technology.
Arrow is a surface-to-air missile system jointly produced by the state-run Israel Aerospace Industries and the American defense contractor Boeing.
The system, designed for ballistic missile defense, forms the important top layer of Israel’s air defense network and has been used extensively over the past three years, primarily in four rounds of fighting with Iran.
There are two Arrow interceptors currently in service. Arrow 2 was deployed in 2000 and can intercept missiles in the upper atmosphere. The newer Arrow 3, operational since 2017, can engage them in space, making it one of the few air defenses in the world capable of doing so.
In the years since Arrow first entered service, Israel has been pursuing upgrades to the system with new interceptors, as reflected in the introduction of Arrow 3 nearly a decade ago.
Boaz Levy, the CEO of IAI, told Business Insider in June 2025 that the early concept work for Arrow 4 began in 2017. He said the new interceptor would have an improved “shoot-look-shoot” capability compared to its predecessors, referring to standard air defense engagement doctrine, which involves firing, reviewing the results, and then engaging a threat again if necessary.
Israel is also developing an Arrow 5 interceptor, which will similarly incorporate AI algorithms and capabilities.
Patel said Arrow 5 is a project that emerged from IAI’s own research and development efforts, but Israel plans to further that work by investing in the interceptor from its own budget. Related information is being shared with the US.
Israel is still discussing specifics with the US Missile Defense Agency, with which it developed the Arrow system. “We still have the process to do so, but at least our intention is to go ahead and get into full-scale development,” Patel said.
Arrow 5 isn’t necessarily being designed to replace Arrow 3, the newest interceptor in service; rather, the intent is to offer an additional defensive layer for future fights.
“The plan is that it’ll ease our battle in the future,” Patel said.
Development of Arrow 4 and 5 comes amid a broader global focus on air defense, with countries from the Middle East to Europe racing to produce and purchase high-end missile defense systems and expensive interceptors to go with them.
Germany is the only foreign buyer of the Arrow systems so far, but Patel said Israel has received significant interest from others, as European nations set out to bolster their ballistic missile defenses following years of Russian attacks against Ukraine.
Israeli officials have commended Arrow for its combat performance against Iranian attacks. During the two most recent clashes — in June 2025 and earlier this year — the system shot down at least 90% of the ballistic missiles it engaged, they told Business Insider.
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