Friday's launch of an Arrow III interceptor missile over the Mediterranean Sea was the second flight of the system, but did not involve the interception of any target.

Israel deployed the previous version, Arrow II, more than a decade ago and claims it has scored around a 90 percent success rate in live trials.

Israeli officials have predicted Arrow III could be deployed by next year. The Pentagon and US firm Boeing are partners in the Arrow project, which is overseen by Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI).

Arrow is the long-range segment in Israel's three-tier missile shield. This also includes the successfully deployed "Iron Dome", which is still under development. They can be deployed alongside US counterpart systems like the Aegis.

The United States and Israel have been developing Arrow jointly since 1988. Washington claims helping Israel develop the capability to shoot down missiles will help prevent escalatory wars in the Middle East.

BA/BA