It happened in the skies above the Red Sea when a Houthi missile fired from Yemen and heading towards Eilat, was shot down outside the Earth’s atmosphere.

The inaugural use of Israel’s Arrow 3 air defence system to destroy a ballistic missile fired from Yemen was the first time the world had ever seen a battle fought in space, said The Times newspaper.

The scientific breakthrough is militarily significant.

It proves that Israel can swat away a barrage of intercontinental ballistic missiles with as much ease as its Iron Dome short-range air defence system can destroy Hamas rockets.

To read more on this story, subscribe to our new e-edition. Go to E-edition.jewishtelegraph.com.

If you have a story or an issue you want us to cover, let us know - in complete confidence - by contacting newsdesk@jewishtelegraph.com, 0161-741 2631 or via Facebook / Twitter