A previous David’s Sling missile defense system test. Photo: Israel Defense Ministry.

JNS.org – The Israeli and American militaries successfully completed a series of missile-interception tests for the David’s Sling defense system, marking a significant milestone for the program’s operability.

“This test campaign is a critical step in ensuring Israel has the capability to defense itself from a very real and growing threat,” said US Missile Defense Agency Director Vice Adm. Jim Syring. “We remain strongly committed to supporting Israel’s development of a missile defense system.”

According to Israeli defense officials, this was the fifth series of tests for David’s Sling. The tests have examined the capabilities and performance of the entire system.

“Threat representative targets were launched and successfully intercepted by Stunner missiles. The MultiMission 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,” the Israeli Defense Ministry said.

David’s Sling, which is being jointly developed by Israel’s Rafael Advanced Defense Systems and the US firm Raytheon, is designed to serve as the middle tier of Israel’s multilayered missile defense program, which also includes the Iron Dome and Arrow 3 systems.

The successful David’s Sling test comes just a week after the Israeli Air Force received its first delivery of Arrow 3’s long-range missile interceptors. Arrow 3, which is also a joint Israeli-American venture, has the capability to shoot down intercontinental ballistic missiles outside of the Earth’s atmosphere.