Israel said on Thursday it has called off tests of its Arrow anti-missile system in the United States after the launch attempt was hit by last-minute technical problems.

A target missile was already in the air when the Israeli operators of the Arrow, which is designed to shoot down ballistic missiles, decided to scrap the test on Wednesday, the defence ministry said in a statement.

"After the target was launched the Arrow system went into action," it said. "Not all launch conditions were met and the interceptor missile was not fired."

The official said faulty communications between Israeli and US military systems were behind the decision to abort.

Israel's Arrow (Hetz in Hebrew) interceptor project was launched two decades ago and is aimed at countering strikes mainly from arch-foe Iran.

In April, Israel reported successfully testing the system at home, intercepting and destroying a ballistic missile similar to Iran's Shahab-3, which can reach its soil.

Begun in 1988, the Arrow programme is today half-funded by Israel's main ally, the United States. Israel considers Iran to be its arch-foe following repeated calls by Ahmadinejad for the Jewish state to be wiped off the map.