The joint Israel-United States David’s Sling anti-missile system successfully has passed its fourth test and may be deployed late this year or early next year, according to the Ministry of Defense,
A target missile was launched, detected and destroyed in the test on Wednesday.
Rafael Advanced Defense Systems developed the system against medium-range missiles in cooperation with Raytheon, based in the United States.
After deployment, Israel will be the only country with a multi-layer anti-missile system.
The Iron Dome system proved its effectiveness in last year’s Hamas war on Gaza by intercepting almost all of short-range missiles. The Arrow system works against long-range missiles, and David’s Sling would fill the gap and intercept missiles and rockets with a range of between 63 miles and 125 miles.
David’s Sling will provide Israel with an important weapon to help defend the country against Hezbollah missiles, but the drawback to the system is money. David’s Sling rockets cost about $1 million each.