Israel says it shot down Iranian salvo 'shoulder-to-shoulder' with US
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Israel says it shot down Iranian salvo 'shoulder-to-shoulder' with US
JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel's repelling of a massive Iranian drone and missile salvo was fully coordinated with the Pentagon, which had a US operational liaison officer in the control room of the Arrow ballistic air defence system, a senior Israeli official said.
The United States, along with Britain, France and Jordan, helped Israel intercept the bulk of the weekend barrage and potentially stave off escalation between the regional enemies.
At least half of the hundreds of pilotless one-way planes, cruise missiles and surface-to-surface missiles, which Israel said carried a total of 60 tonnes of explosives, were shot down by Israeli warplanes and aerial shields, according to local media.
Israeli officials said much of the work was done by their Arrow 2 and Arrow 3 high-altitude defence systems, which were developed jointly with the Pentagon and Boeing Co .
Arrow's interceptor missiles cost between $2 million and $3.5 million a piece, according to Israeli industry sources.
Moshe Patel, director of missile defence at Israel's Defence Ministry, said Arrow and lower-altitude interceptors were synced with counterpart US systems in the region.
"The systems share information, for a joint picture of the sky, and the sky was certainly busy," Patel told Channel 12 TV.
"Afterward, there is also coordination in battle doctrine. An American officer sits in the control room of the Arrow weapons system and essentially conducts the coordination with the US systems, shoulder-to-shoulder."
There was no immediate comment from U.S. Central Command, which oversees Middle East operations. On Sunday, it said US forces destroyed more than 80 of the drones and at least six of the ballistic missiles aimed at Israel.
