Israel Hayom reported yesterday that the Israeli navy announced the successful test of a naval anti-missile system.

The Israeli Navy secretly tested an upgraded anti-missile system designed to protect naval vessels several months ago. The test was crowned a success. …

The test was conducted as part of a general overhaul of the navy’s defense systems, which also provide protection for offshore drilling rigs.

Not all the details of the test were released, but according to the military, the exercise involved a mock-Yakhont missile fired from sea, which was successfully intercepted by the Israeli Barak missile, fired from an Israeli Navy missile boat.

According to the report, the ship-based anti-missile system is based on the successful Iron Dome system, which intercepted 90% of the rockets that were fired into populated areas of Israel this past summer by Hamas.

Israel is also developing the Iron Beam system, a laser system designed to destroy mortars.

In Don’t Be Fooled. Hezbollah is Bigger and Badder than Ever, which appeared in the March 2014 issue of The Tower Magazine, Shai Oseran and Stéphane Cohen explained the difficulty of defending against the Yakhont missile.

It may now have obtained Russian Yakhont anti-ship cruise missiles from Syria. If these weapons have indeed been transferred to Hezbollah, it would instantly put any Israeli naval vessel under direct threat, even those docked at Israeli ports. The Yakhont is difficult to defend against, since it can be launched from beyond the horizon, at supersonic speeds and with a range of different possible trajectories. If fired from behind mountain ridges or other geographical obstacles in Lebanon, they could avoid detection from the sea and strike targeted vessels with minimal warning. It is believed that 12 of these missiles may be in the hands of Hezbollah fighters in Syria itself.

[Photo: TopCompare / YouTube ]