Israel said Wednesday it has concluded a new series of tests on its David’s Sling air defense system, a platform designed to intercept a range of aerial threats, including rockets, ballistic and cruise missiles, aircraft and unmanned aerial vehicles.
According to a statement from the Israeli Defense Ministry, the trials were conducted by the Israel Missile Defense Organization in collaboration with the US Missile Defense Agency and Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, one of Israel’s leading defense contractors.
“The test series was built on operational lessons learned from recent combat and included a wide range of challenging scenarios simulating existing and emerging threats,” the statement said.
Moshe Patel, head of the Israel Missile Defense Organization, said the testing campaign ended “with complete success, enabling a significant upgrade to the State of Israel’s air and missile defense architecture.”
Operational since 2017, David’s Sling functions as the middle layer of Israel’s multi-tier missile defense network, positioned between the long-range Arrow system and the short-range Iron Dome.
Israel’s defense arsenal also includes the US-produced Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system, designed to counter ballistic missile threats.
The announcement comes as discussions continue over the possibility of a US strike on Iran, with Israeli officials indicating that contingency planning is underway for a range of potential scenarios.
