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The Tikvah Podcast

Thomas Karako on the U.S., Israel, and Missile Defense

The Tikvah Podcast

Tikvah

Judaism, Politics, Religion & Spirituality, News

4.6620 Ratings

🗓️ 16 October 2019

⏱️ 25 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

This past July, something unusual happened in Alaska. The Israeli military launched its most technologically sophisticated defensive missiles through the atmosphere, into space. The July testing of the Arrow 3 represents the consummation of decades of military and scientific partnership between Israel and the United States.

The Arrow 3 conveys a kill vehicle that constantly adjusts in order to intercept an incoming missile itself—what is called in missile defense, a “metal to metal” intercept. If you want to understand what a monumental technological achievement this is, remember that intercontinental ballistic missiles can travel three or four miles per second—from Moscow to New York in 20 minutes. Israeli missile engineers have figured out a way to detect an incoming projectile moving that fast, deploy an intercept, and observe metal to metal contact in outer space. This unbelievable marvel of technology is the subject of this podcast.

Our guest is Dr. Thomas Karako, Senior Fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies and the director of their Missile Defense Project. Dr. Karako discusses the nature of U.S.-Israel cooperation on missile defense, what makes the Arrow 3 system special, and why this incredible technology is so promising for America, Israel, and the world.

Musical selections in this podcast are drawn from the Quintet for Clarinet and Strings, op. 31a, composed by Paul Ben-Haim and performed by the ARC Ensemble, as well as the original Broadway cast recording of Fiddler on the Roof and "Above the Ocean" by Evan MacDonald.

Transcript

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0:00.0

This past July, something unusual happened in Alaska.

0:12.0

The Israeli military launched its most technologically sophisticated defensive missiles

0:17.0

through the atmosphere into space.

0:19.0

The July testing of the Arrow 3 represents the consummation

0:23.0

of decades of military and scientific partnership between Israel and the United States. Israel

0:29.2

aerospace industries working together with Boeing and funded to a significant extent by the

0:34.0

United States Congress demonstrated the successful interception of intercontinental

0:39.4

ballistic missiles, not with fragmentary explosions whose blast disrupts an incoming warhead.

0:46.7

No, the arrow three conveys a kill vehicle that constantly adjusts and readjusts in order to

0:53.5

intercept the incoming missile itself.

0:55.6

What in missile defense is called a metal-to-metal intercept.

0:59.9

Now, if like me you're not a missile defense expert, let me explain what an achievement this is.

1:06.6

Intercontinental ballistic missiles can travel three or four miles per second. From now to now,

1:14.9

three to four miles per second from Moscow to New York in 20 minutes, Israeli missile engineers

1:20.8

have figured out a way to detect an incoming projectile, deploy an intercept, and observe

1:25.9

metal-to-metal contact in outer space with the incoming

1:29.7

projectile moving three to four miles per second. This unbelievable marvel of technology was

1:36.3

demonstrated to the world in July of this past year, and it's the subject of today's Tikva

1:41.6

podcast. I'm your host, Jonathan Silver. What interests me

1:45.6

about the Arrow 3 test this summer is that it is a concrete example of what the Americans and the Israelis

1:52.3

can do together, a partnership that at this level really transcends day-to-day politics and partisanship

1:58.4

in both nations. And all of us who love Israel and want her to

...

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