Jericho I is a medium-range ballistic missile developed jointly by [[Israel]] and the [[Dassault Company]] of [[France]]. In 1963, [[Israel]] paid $100 million for its joint development and manufacture. It was anticipated that the Jericho I would be able to deliver a miniaturized nuclear warhead to targets three hundred miles away.[^1] By the mid-1960s, the Jericho missiles were rapidly being assembled by Dassault. [[Central Intelligence Agency|CIA]] technical analysts were able to draw scale models of the system and even designed nuclear, chemical, and high-explosive warheads for it, predicting that [[Israel]] could successfully target and fire a nuclear warhead. However, intelligence about the Israeli missile was often suppressed or ignored within the U.S. government.[^2] The first field test of the Jericho I had mixed results, with the missile experiencing guidance problems and not yet capable of hitting its intended targets. Despite this, the missile program, code-named Project 700, was envisioned by [[Ernst David Bergmann]] as the final, costly step toward the [[Samson Option]].[^1] ### Footnotes [^1]: Hersh, Seymour M. *The Samson Option: Israel's Nuclear Arsenal and American Foreign Policy*. Random House, 1991. Chapter 3, 9, 13. [^2]: Hersh, Seymour M. *The Samson Option: Israel's Nuclear Arsenal and American Foreign Policy*. Random House, 1991. Chapter 11.