Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday morning told the weekly Cabinet meeting that the David’s Sling missile defense interceptor would become operational later in the day.
“This afternoon, the David’s Sling missile defense interceptor will become operational,” Netanyahu said. “This is important news; all of Israel’s citizens experienced the important achievement of the Iron Dome system against short range missiles in the last Gaza campaign.”
David’s Sling, formerly known as Magic Wand, is an IDF system being jointly developed by the Israeli defense contractor Rafael Advanced Defense Systems and the American defense contractor Raytheon, designed to intercept enemy planes, drones, tactical ballistic missiles, medium- to long-range rockets and cruise missiles, fired at ranges from 25 to 185 miles.
David’s Sling is meant to bolster the second tier of Israel’s theater missile defense system. The two-stage radar and electro-optic guided system’s range is three times that of Iron Dome.
“We have an absolute obligation to the security of Israel’s citizens,” the PM noted, adding that “in the context of this obligation, we are working systematically to strengthen the offensive capability of the State of Israel against its enemies. We are also working, to the same degree, to strengthen our defensive capability against our enemies.”
“Of course, we also developed the Arrow system against strategic long-range missiles, as well as other systems,” Netanyahu said. “David’s Sling acts in the intermediate range and is of great importance to Israel’s security. I would like to commend the people at the Defense Ministry, the IDF, the R&D people and everyone who worked to make this system operational. We are defending the home front.”