Israel reportedly test-fired a long-range missile in early November capable of hitting Iran. In an email interview, Dinshaw Mistry, an associate professor at the University of Cincinnati and the author of “Containing Missile Proliferation,” discussed Israel’s missile capabilities.
WPR: What is the current size of Israel's ballistic missile arsenal (short- and mid-range missiles and ranges, and long-range ICBMs)?
Dinshaw Mistry: Israel is believed to deploy at least several tens of Jericho ballistic missiles. In the 1970s, Israel developed and deployed the single-stage Jericho-1 missile, which had a range of 250-300 miles and could reach Israel’s immediate neighbors. In the 1980s and 1990s, Israel tested and deployed the two-stage Jericho-2 missile, which has a range of about 925 miles, which enables it to strike more-distant regional states. On Nov. 2, Israel reportedly tested a 1,250-mile-range missile that can strike even more-distant targets such as those in Iran. In addition, Israel’s three-stage Shavit satellite launcher uses the first two stages of the Jericho-2. Israel launched the Shavit nine times between 1988 and 2010.