“David Sling: The Israeli Missile Defense System Intercepting Rockets from Gaza”

As Israeli forces attacked Gaza from dawn on the 9th (local time), Palestinian armed groups fired about 500 rockets at Israeli cities. Most of the rockets launched were intercepted by the Iron Dome system, except for rockets headed to uninhabited areas.

In the early morning of the 10th, Palestinian armed groups also fired three rockets toward Tel Aviv, a city bordering the Mediterranean Sea. It was confirmed by the Israeli military that one of these shots was shot down by the David Sling, an intermediate-range ballistic missile interception system.

Developed by Rafael Advanced Systems in conjunction with Raytheon, the David Sling is designed to intercept short-range ballistic missiles, large-caliber rockets and cruise missiles. The system consists of an ELM-2084 fire control radar, a combat control station and a vertical launcher containing 12 missiles, with an interception range of 40 to 300 km.

The interceptor missile is called Stunner in Israel and SkyCeptor in the US. Rafael touts the Stunner/Skyceptor interceptor missile as combining new and innovative steering control, multi-pulse propellant and a next-generation seeker into a lightweight airframe, providing superior maneuverability, maneuverability and lethality. It is also claimed to provide high lethality against a wide range of air and missile targets.

The David Sling, which uses a hit-to-kill method to efficiently intercept ballistic missiles, has been developed since 2009 and is a new weapon deployed since 2017. The David Sling is the core of Israel’s multi-layered defense system, along with the Iron Dome, a short-range defense system, and the Arrow series ballistic missile defense system, a mid- to long-range defense system.

The David Sling was launched in July 2018 to intercept two OTR-21 Tochka short-range ballistic missiles fired at rebels by Syrian government forces towards Israel. A Tochka ballistic missile landed on Syrian soil near the border, and the launched David Sling self-destructed in the air. One of the interceptor missiles fired at this time did not explode in the air and fell in Syria, and it is known that Syrian government forces obtained it and provided it to Russia.

David Sling is showing a lot of interest in the export market. In April 2023, Finland became the first country to introduce the David Sling overseas, signing a contract worth $345 million. With the success of the actual interception, it is expected that other countries that are considering Israeli-made defense systems will follow suit.

Efforts have also been made to integrate the David Sling system with other systems. In 2013, US Raytheon unveiled plans to develop a new air defense missile system that integrates the Stunner interceptor missile into the Patriot system, and named it PAAC (Patriot Advanced Affordable Capability)-4. In mid-2017, an Israeli Air Force F-16 fighter jet equipped with a Stunner interceptor missile was shown in flight testing.

Hyunho Choi Military Columnist [email protected]