Israel and the United States have successfully completed live-fire intercept tests of the David’s Sling Weapon System (DSWS), the countries announced Tuesday.
The tests were designed to gauge the ability of the system’s features by simulating cruise and ballistic missiles. Their conclusion marks a major milestone in the two countries’ collaboration on missile defense.
“The Israel Missile Defense Organization (IMDO) of the Directorate of Defense Research and Development (DDR&D) of the Israel Ministry of Defense (IMOD) together with the Missile Defense Agency, successfully completed a series of flight tests of the David’s Sling Weapon System (DSWS) in an advanced system configuration against current and emerging threats,” the U.S. military’s Missile Defense Agency said in a statement.
“During the campaign, designated David’s Sling Test-7 (DST-7), IMDO successfully demonstrated advanced capabilities of the DSWS in the intercept of a threat representative target. This intercept test represents a key milestone in DSWS development,” said the statement.
Iron Dome, the Arrow and David’s Sling are part of the joint U.S.-Israeli project to develop a multilayered missile-defense system that would allow Israel to maintain its military edge in the region. The Iron Dome has been instrumental at intercepting rockets from the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip, and the hope is that the project would also be useful in any future conflagration involving long- and medium-range missiles from Iran.
This article first appeared in Israel Hayom.
