Israel’s David’s Sling air-defense system has completed a series of complex tests designed to enhance its readiness against future threats, Israel’s Defense Ministry announced on Wednesday.
The trials were conducted in cooperation with the Defense Ministry, Rafael Advanced Defense Systems and the U.S. Missile Defense Agency.
The tests were carried out by the Israel Missile Defense Organization (IMDO), known by its Hebrew acronym Homa, within the Defense Ministry’s Directorate of Defense Research and Development, together with the U.S. Missile Defense Agency and Rafael.
The series of trials, built on operational lessons learned during the war and from June’s “Operation Rising Lion” against Iran, included a variety of challenging scenarios reflecting both existing and emerging threats.
Defense officials said the successful tests mark another technological and operational breakthrough in upgrading the system, which demonstrated high performance during the war, carrying out successful interceptions that saved lives and prevented extensive damage.
Rafael chairman Yuval Steinitz spoke on Thursday morning about the successful drill, saying that David’s Sling has undergone a significant upgrade.
“Following lessons learned from the war, its ability to intercept threats of all types, including long-range threats, has greatly improved. Indeed, yesterday an impressive test was presented over the Middle East, in which the David’s Sling system successfully intercepted targets that are very difficult to shoot down,” he was cited as saying by Channel 12 News.
Moshe Patel, head of Homa, said his team had carried out real-time adjustments to the Israeli Air Force’s air defense systems capabilities during “Operation Rising Lion,” especially with regard to David’s Sling.
“We conducted an extensive series of tests examining future capabilities and responses to multiple and diverse threats. The series concluded with full success and enables a significant upgrade to the State of Israel’s air defense array,” Channel 12 quoted Patel as saying.
The report added that David’s Sling is capable of intercepting threats at altitudes of 50-70 kilometers (31-43 miles) within a horizontal range of 300 kilometers (185 miles).
David’s Sling constitutes a central layer in Israel’s multi-tiered air-defense array, which also includes the Arrow missile-defense system, Iron Dome and Iron Beam, the laser-based system recently delivered to the Israeli Air Force.
The advanced air defense system is designed to intercept a range of threats, including rockets, ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, aircraft and unmanned aerial vehicles.
The system’s development is led by the Defense Ministry through the Israel Missile Defense Organization in cooperation with Israeli defense industries and the U.S. Missile Defense Agency.
Rafael is the prime contractor for David’s Sling. Israel Aerospace Industries, through its Elta division, developed the MMR radar, while Elbit Systems developed the command-and-control system.
Originally published by Israel Hayom.
