Israel’s Defense Ministry and the United States Missile Defense Agency (USMDA) announced a series of successful intercept tests of an advanced version of the David’s Sling Weapon System. Rafael Advanced Systems conducted the tests from a site in central Israel, in which Israel’s Air Force and Navy participated.
The Israel Missile Defense Organization (IMDO), of the Defense Directorate R&D in the Defense Ministry together with USMDA “completed a series of live-fire intercept tests of David’s Sling weapon system, against threat-representative cruise and ballistic missiles,” according to a Defense Ministry statement.
“The series tested the capabilities of a new and advanced version of David’s Sling weapon system and included a number of scenarios simulating future threats. The results of this test will enable IMDO and industry engineers to evaluate and upgrade the system’s capabilities,” according to the statement.
In addition, IMDO and Rafael successfully demonstrated Iron Dome’s upgraded capabilities, intercepting a variety of threats including UAV’s and cruise missiles. Iron Dome system upgrade not only includes short-range rockets and mortars but also drones, cruise missiles.
The test was also designed to showcase the interoperability of Israel’s multi-layered air defense mechanism – Arrow, David’s Sling and Iron Dome. The indication was that the system would be able to intercept multiple threats simultaneously during conflict.
Representatives of the MDA and Israeli defense industries, as well as IAF soldiers participated in the test. Rafael is the prime contractor for the development of the David’s Sling weapon system, in cooperation with U.S. Raytheon. IAI’s Elta division developed the MMR radar, and Elbit Systems developed the Golden Almond BMC.
David’s Sling is a significant component of Israel’s multi-layer air defense mechanism. The development of this mechanism is led by the IMDO and consists of four layers: Iron Dome, David’s Sling, Arrow-2 and Arrow-3. These are all operational in the Israel Air Force.
Israeli Defense Minister, Benny Gantz: “I commend the successful test, which for the first time, assessed the combined interception capabilities of the multi-layer air defense system of the State of Israel. This is one of the most advanced air defense mechanisms in the world and it protects the state from threats near and far. These systems have been developed in a fantastic manner by the Directorate of Defense Research and Development in the Ministry of Defense and by Rafael. The systems in this multi-layer mechanism provide Israel with a top-tier strategic capability, enabling us to operate effectively in every scenario. I would also like to thank our partners in the U.S. Department of Defense, U.S. Missile Defense Agency, U.S. government, and U.S. Congress, who support the State of Israel in the development of these systems and aid us in ensuring Israel’s security and operational superiority.”
Head of the Israel Missile Defense Organization in the Ministry of Defense, Moshe Patel: In the last few weeks, the defense establishment, together with the defense industries, conducted a series of tests – unprecedented in their complexity. Through these tests, we demonstrated that the State of Israel has a robust, multilayered capability to face a variety of threats – cruise missiles, UAVs and ballistic threats. For the first time, we have demonstrated a multi-layered approach to dealing with threats – an approach that employs the Iron Dome, David’s Sling and Arrow weapon systems. Using this approach, a variety of threats may be identified and intercepted via full coordination and interoperability between the systems.”
Executive VP and Head of Rafael’s Air and Missile Defense Division, Brig. Gen. (Res.) Pini Yungman: “The capability that was demonstrated in this series of tests ensures the security of the State of Israel and its ability to contend with current and future threats. When the different systems in the multi-layered mechanism are combined, they can handle a variety of simultaneous threats and defend the citizens of the State of Israel.”
