An Israeli Arrow anti-ballistic missile Thursday failed to destroy its target but officials maintained that target was more advanced than the missiles Israel's enemies now have.

Hence, This test does not influence the operational status of the system in the Israeli Air Force, a Defense Ministry statement said.

Israel's Arrow system has been operational for several years and batteries were deployed on the eve of the United States and its allies' invasion of Iraq.

Thursday's test involved a battery Israel sent to the United States because its own territory is too small for a full-fledged test simulating missiles that could come from Iran.

The test was conducted at Point Magu, California. A U.S. C-17 reportedly flying at an altitude of 20,000 feet fired the target missile that the Haaretz newspaper said was a SRALP. The United States, which has funded most of the Arrow program, provided the target missile.

At an altitude of some 50 kilometers, the warhead separated from the engine. This separation was supposed to simulate a situation in which an enemy missile would split into the real warhead and some decoys to mislead Israel's radar system. The outcome would be particularly dangerous if the real warhead would contain a nuclear bomb and slip detection.

The Defense Ministry said the Israeli-developed Green Pine Fire Control Radar acquired the target and sent its data to the Battle Management Center.

That prepared a battle plan and launched the Arrow toward the target but the mission was not completed, the report said.

The Defense Ministry's Director General Amos Yaron told Haaretz most of the Arrow's systems functioned.

The Arrow reportedly identified the warhead sent the missile racing towards it to blow it up.

However, because of a fault that was not completely clear, the warhead was not destroyed, the report added.

A senior Israel defense official who spoke to United Press International on condition he not be identified said one of the Arrow's actuators had failed. He would not detail.

The Haaretz newspaper's Web site quoted Arieh Herzog, who is responsible for the project and whom it reached in California, as saying the Arrow proved its ability to differentiate between the warhead and the engine but because of a fault, it did not perform the final homing unto the target and therefore it was not destroyed.

In the previous test on July 29, also off California's coast, the Arrow physically collided with a Scud missile, a senior Israel defense official told UPI. That Scud had been in one piece.

U.S. officials have recently argued that the Arrow system was not yet ready for test, Israel Radio's reporter in Washington said. However, the reporter added, Israel's outgoing defense attaché, Maj. Gen. Moshe Ivri-Sukenik said Monday The enemy is preparing and we must not wait.

Iran already has ballistic missiles capable of reaching Israel and is believed to be working on more advanced and long-range missiles. Israeli officials are concerned it would have a nuclear bomb in a few years. Syria reportedly has missiles with chemical warheads.

The Arrow-system is Israel's main defensive system. Israel also has F-15I aircraft capable of reaching Iran and foreign reports, never confirmed in Israel, said its submarines have been sited in the Indian Ocean. Tel Aviv University's Jaffee Center for Strategic Studies, quoting foreign publications, said Israel has Jericho surface-to-surface missiles with a range of 600 to 3,000 kilometers (375 to 1,875 miles).

Retired Maj. Gen. Isaac Ben-Israel who headed the Defense Ministry's Research and Development Administration and has since joined Tel Aviv University to head its Strategic Studies Program, said that last month's test in California proves the Arrow can meet the present threats Israel faces, including that of Iran's Shehab-3.

Thursday's test was designed to check the Arrow's ability to cope with threats that do not yet exist but might develop, he added.

You cannot wait until they appear and then develop (the answer to them) because you would always be several years behind (the enemy) and exposed to the threat, he said.

The Defense Ministry's statement reflected that attitude when it said the test's goal was to intercept an unreal threat that represents an extreme condition.

Ben-Israel maintained the Arrow missile system was nevertheless tested and proven.

In a battle situation, a failure of the kind he believed had happened Thursday would lead operators to fire a second Arrow missile.

The chances of a failure in both missiles is very small, Ben-Israel added.