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An "Arrow 3" ballistic missile interceptor is seen during its test launch near Ashdod, Israel December 10, 2015. Reuters

In an effort to complement its “Iron Dome,” the Israeli Air Force announced the delivery and “operational capability” of the highly advanced Arrow-3 missile defense system Wednesday after working in part with the United States, DefenseNews reported.

The Arrow-3, under the U.S.-Israel Arrow Weapon System, was produced by Israel Aerospace Industries and U.S.-based Boeing. U.S. Air Force Brig. Gen. William Cooley joined Israeli Ministry of Defense developers and other in ceremonies celebrating the delivery.

The U.S. role in helping with the development of the system was praised.

“Today we’re entering a new era; the Arrow-3 era,” Moshe Patel, head of the Israel Missile Defense Organization (IMDO), said according to DefenseNews. “We’re very proud to deliver to the Israel Air Force the first initial capability of Arrow-3 … [a program] we’ve worked on for the last 10 years, together with MDA and with a lot of help from the U.S. Congress and the U.S. administration.”

However, more tests are still required and Israeli won’t be “fully equipped” with the system immediately, Haaretz reported.

The Iron Dome, developed by Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, defends Israel from short-range rocket and other aerial assaults up to 43 miles away. But the new system takes Israel’s defense capabilities into outer space.

The Arrow-3 stands as one of the most - if not the pinnacle – advanced missile defense system in the world and can help Israel fend off long-range missiles, including taking down targets in space. It’s a crowning achievement in design, given the new missiles are half the weight of the Arrow-2 and have better “control and monitoring abilities while also expanding radar detection range,” according to Haaretz.

In December 2015, Israel conducted a successful test of the Arrow-3 by nailing a target in space in a simulation designed to mirror long-range missiles possessed by Iran, Syria and Hezbollah, Reuters reported. When the missile does reach out of the atmosphere and into space, its warheads split off and become “kamikaze satellites” or “kill vehicles” that track down and hit intended targets.

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