The Air Force, the Defense Ministry's Homa Administration and Rafael successfully completed a series of groundbreaking exercises and experiments in southern Israel, which included successful interceptions of the David's Sling system in a number of challenging and complex scenarios - against advanced threats, which expand the system's capability and significantly improve the layers of Israel's air defense.
Series of training and experiments in the advanced David's Sling defense system | Spokesperson and Public Relations Division of the Ministry of Defense
The Defense Ministry's Homa Directorate (Directorate for Research, Development of Weapons and Technological Infrastructure) and Rafael successfully completed a series of groundbreaking training and experiments in southern Israel, during which interceptions were carried out in the advanced David's Sling defense system, designed to intercept advanced threats, including ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, aircraft and drones. IAI and Elbit Systems also participated in the series.
"Perfect accuracy"
The series examined the system's existing capabilities in a number of challenging scenarios, proving the capabilities of the weapon system during conflict. The success of the model is another important milestone in the operational absorption of the system in the Air Force, against the variety of threats in the IDF's various combat arenas.
Present at the activity were senior representatives from the US Missile Defense Agency (MDA), partners together with the Homa Administration in the development and production of the David's Sling system.
The David's Sling system is a central layer of defense in the national air defense system, which also includes the Arrow, Iron Dome and Iron Dome naval systems, the development of which is led by the Ministry of Defense through the Homa Administration at the DDR. Rafael is the main developer of the David's Sling defense system. IAI, through the ELTA division, developed the MMR radar, Elbit Systems develops the command and control system of the David's Sling system.
David's Sling system, photo: Spokesperson and Public Relations Division of the Ministry of Defense
Director General of the Ministry of Defense, Maj. Gen. (res.) Eyal Zamir welcomed the further leap in the capabilities of the David's Sling system. The head of the Defense Ministry's DDR, Brig. Gen. (res.) Dr. Daniel Gold, said: "During Operation Shield and Arrow, we witnessed for the first time the operational capabilities of the David's Sling system. In the challenging activity that just ended, we witnessed the system's expanded operational capabilities, which prove the qualitative advantage and technological superiority of the State of Israel in general and in the world of missile defense in particular, as part of the layered concept that includes the Iron Dome and the Arrow weapon system."
Chief of Staff of the Air Force, Brigadier General Eyal Greenbaum: "The Air Force, together with its partners in force buildup in the defense establishment and in the various industries, works day and night to maximize the potential of capabilities in order to protect the country's skies from the various and evolving threats. This model tested the capabilities of the 66th Battalion (David's Sling) combined with the national detection system for intercepting targets in various scenarios. The women fighters once again proved their high competence. I had a lot of appreciation for all those involved in the work."
Firing from Gaza during Operation Shield and Arrow, photo: AFP
Moshe Fattal, Head of the Homa Administration at the Defense Ministry's Mapat Development and Development Authority: "The Homa Administration at the Mapat continues to upgrade the capabilities of David's Sling, together with the US Missile Defense Agency, the Air Force and the defense industries. This is in order to increase its effectiveness in the face of the development of threats in the arena. In the series of training and experiments, we successfully tested unique capabilities for the system in a number of complex end scenarios. Using the same capabilities, David's Sling fighters successfully identified the threats using the system and launched David's Sling interceptors at them, which destroyed the targets with perfect accuracy."
R. Magen Director, Colonel T': "The success in the training joins the successful operational interceptions of the 66th Battalion in Operation Shield and Arrow and proves the capabilities of the David's Sling weapon system against a multi-front attack scenario. Conducting training that includes live interception of an operational weapons system operated by the Air Force provides great confidence in operating the systems in the Air Force and is part of a multi-year program to improve the preparedness of the defense systems against threats from Iran in particular and from other arenas in general."
Senior Vice President and Head of the Air Defense Division at Rafael, Brigadier General (res.) Pini Jungman: "The success of the series of training and tests in the David's Sling system to add operational capabilities is another breakthrough that Rafael is leading in dealing with existing and evolving threats. In Operation Shield and Arrow, the David's Sling system was activated and successfully intercepted two threats as part of an impressive operational activity that protected the citizens of Israel, as the sister system "Iron Dome" has been doing for years. We are proud of Rafael's part, in cooperation with the Air Force, the Homa Administration at MAFAT, in the mission to ensure the security and technological strength of the State of Israel."
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