South Front
Screengrab. Source: the Israeli Ministry of Defense.
The Israeli Ministry of Ministry and military announced on July 9 that the air force and the defense firm Rafael Advanced Defense Systems had successfully completed a recent series of tests with the David’s Sling medium-range air defense system.
According to a joint statement, David’s Sling was tested against “advanced threats,” expanding the system’s capability “and significantly improving the air defense layers of the State of Israel.”
“The existing capabilities of the system were tested in a number of challenging scenarios, which prove the capabilities of the system during conflict,” the statement said, calling it an “important milestone.”
David’s Sling was especially developed by Rafael and American defense contractor Raytheon to intercept planes, drones, tactical ballistic missiles, medium- to long-range rockets and cruise missiles, launched at ranges from 40 up to 300 kilometers.
Brigade General Eyal Grinboim, chief of air staff of the Israeli Air Force, said in a statement that “through testing this model, we have successfully demonstrated our ability to carry out successful interceptions even in the most challenging scenarios. Soldiers have proven their outstanding operational capabilities yet again.”
David’s Slaing failed its first real combat test in 2018 when it could not intercept two Soviet-made Tochka tactical ballistic missiles which were launched from southern Syria. Back then, Israeli officials cited technical reasons that could not be published due to security concerns.
During a confrontation with the Palestinian Islamic Jihad in Gaza last May, the system managed to shoot down a rocket heading to the city of Tel Aviv, and another that was aimed at Jerusalem city.
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