Israeli-made David Sling air defense missile system will be soon deployed for trial period by IDF 30

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Defence & Security News - Israel

 
 
Sunday, November 30, 2014 11:55 AM
 
Israeli-made David Sling air defense missile system will be soon deployed for trial period by IDF.
The Israeli-made David's Sling air defense system will soon be deployed for a trial period, before becoming operational, the IDF (Israel Defense Forces) said in recent days. David's Sling can intercept short-range to medium-range rockets and missiles, including Hezbollah's Katyusha rockets. Its range of coverage is three times that of the Iron Dome anti-rocket defense system.
     
The Israeli-made David's Sling air defense system will soon be deployed for a trial period, before becoming operational, the IDF (Israel Defense Forces) said in recent days. David's Sling can intercept short-range to medium-range rockets and missiles, including Hezbollah's Katyusha rockets. Its range of coverage is three times that of the Iron Dome anti-rocket defense system.
Israeli-made David Sling air defense missile system launch station.
     

The system will be deployed in various areas around Israel for a trial period, the IDF added.

After that, David's Sling will also be set up to intercept hostile aircraft and missiles with longer ranges. Eventually, it should be able to intercept incoming cruise missiles as well.

St.-Sgt.-Maj. Yishai Rosenberg, head of the David's Sling Branch at the air force's Equipment Squadron, said the most important aspect of David's Sling was its integration into the existing layers of air defenses.

"It should be allowed to work with other interception systems," Rosenberg said.

David's Sling will also be linked up to the Home Front Command's command and control systems, which provide civilian projectile alerts, and information to air defense systems.

David's Sling will also have its own independent interception management center, from where orders will go out on future interceptions of aerial threats.

David's Sling interceptor missiles can broadcast sensory information in real time.

Before becoming fully operational, David's Sling must undergo two further trials, which examine its ability to shoot down a missiles.

     
The Israeli-made David's Sling air defense system will soon be deployed for a trial period, before becoming operational, the IDF (Israel Defense Forces) said in recent days. David's Sling can intercept short-range to medium-range rockets and missiles, including Hezbollah's Katyusha rockets. Its range of coverage is three times that of the Iron Dome anti-rocket defense system.
David Sling missile firing test.
     
The IAF (Israel Air Force) will soon begin the first training program for technicians from the Air Defense Command who will eventually be assigned to David's Sling.

In November 2013, the Defense Ministry and the US Missile Defense Agency (MDA) held a successful test of David’s Sling, in which a ballistic missile was shot down and destroyed.

Yair Ramati, of the Defense Ministry’s Administration for the Development of Weapons and Technological Infrastructure, said at the time that the trial was a “very complex procedure,” adding that David’s Sling is slated to become a defensive “workhorse” against large, powerful rockets and missiles that threaten Israel’s major cities.

Ramati said that radar systems act as the system’s eyes, the command and control center are its brain, and the interceptors are its arms.

“What’s special about it is that it knows how to intercept from a low altitude to a fairly high altitude in the atmosphere, covering a wide range of territory which I can’t unfortunately cite,” Ramati stated.

After a ballistic missile was fired, a David’s Sling MMR (multi-mission radar) identified it and passed along its trajectory to the fire management system, which calculated a defensive interception.

An interceptor was then fired, striking and destroying the target successfully.

David’s Sling is being developed by Rafael in cooperation with the American Raytheon company, while its MMR radar was built by Elta, a subsidiary of IAI, and its command and control center was designed by Elisra, a subsidiary of Elbit Systems.