David's Sling Weapon System: Israel's Most Advanced Missile-Defense DST-4 Flight
The Israel Missile Defense Organization (IMDO) of the Directorate of Defense Research and Development (DDR&D) and the U.S. Missile Defense Agency (MDA) successfully completed a series of tests of the David's Sling Weapon System.
David's Sling (Hebrew: קלע דוד), also sometimes called Magic Wand (Hebrew: שרביט קסמים) is jointly developed by the Israeli defense contractor Rafael Advanced Defense Systems and the American defense contractor Raytheon. It is designed to intercept medium- to long-range rockets and cruise missiles, fired at ranges from 40 km (25 miles) to 300 km (185 miles).
This test series, designated David's Sling Test-4 (DST-4), was the fourth series of tests of the David's Sling Weapon System and the final milestone before declaring delivery of an operational system.
Once shrouded in secrecy, Israel's David's Sling missile interceptor went on display for the first time this week at the Paris Air Show. Its co-manufacturers, Rafael, say the system is designed to compliment the Iron Dome defensive shield used in the Gaza conflict, and will be operational within two years. Jim Drury went to take a look.
The Israel Missile Defense Organization of the Directorate of Defense Research and Development and the U.S. Missile Defense Agency successfully completed a test series of the David’s Sling Weapons System.
David's Sling (Hebrew: קלע דוד, translit. Kelah Da'vid), also formerly known as Magic Wand (Hebrew: שרביט קסמים, translit. Sharvit Ksamim) is a missile defense system that is a central part of Israel’s multi-layer anti-missile array.
This test series, designated David’s Sling Test-5 (DST-5) was the fifth series of tests of the David’s Sling Weapon System. This test series was conducted at Yanat Sea Range, operated out of Palmachim Air Base, Israel.
The test examined capabilities and performance of the entire David’s Sling Weapon System. Threat-representative targets were launched and successfully intercepted by Stunner missiles. The Multi-Mission Radar (MMR) detected the target after launch and transferred flight information to the Battle Management Center (BMC), which calculated the defense plan. The interceptors were successfully launched, performed all flight phases and engaged the targets as planned. Preliminary analysis indicates that test objectives were successfully achieved.
The David’s Sling Weapon System project is a cooperative effort between the United States and Israel to develop a defense against large caliber rockets and short-range ballistic missiles.