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TEL AVIV – A joint exercise now being conducted between thousands of Israeli forces and the U.S. European Command represents a final test before Israel begins to deploy one of the most sophisticated missile defence systems in the world.

When it is complete, Israel’s multibillion-dollar rocket and missile air defence system will be far superior to anything in the Middle East and will likely rival, and in some ways surpass, in speed and targeting, air defences deployed by Europe and the United States, its developers say.

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tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or Israel to launch multibillion-dollar defence system that can destroy ballistic missiles and orbiting satellites Back to video

The United States has provided more than $3.3 billion over the past 10 years to support the defensive system, which will be able to knock down not only

Though Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Obama have had a strained relationship, rubbed raw by their deep disagreement over the Iran nuclear deal, U.S. spending on Israel’s air defences has soared in the last decade, from $133 million in 2006 to $619 million in 2015.