Story highlights Israel declares test a "major milestone" in development of anti-missile system

Arrow could protect Israel from medium range missiles fired from countries like Iran

The United States and Israel are jointly developing the system.

Israel completed a successful test flight of its Arrow 3 interceptor system on Monday, the Ministry of Defense said in a statement.

The system is designed to defend against medium-range missiles that could be fired from countries such as Iran.

"The successful test is a major milestone in the development of the Arrow 3 Weapon System and provides further confidence in future Israeli defense capabilities to defeat the developing ballistic missile threat," the statement said.

The test of the joint American and Israeli weapon system was held over the Mediterranean Sea on Monday morning.

Israel and the United States have been jointly developing the multi-billion dollar Arrow missile defense system since 1986. The goal is to provide Israel with a defense for medium range missiles fired toward it from the region.