Weapon-system intercept testing completed, says Israel's defense dept.
NewsJanuary 31, 2017
PALMACHIM AIR BASE, Israel. The Israel Missile Defense Organization (IMDO) of the Directorate of Defense Research and Development (DDR&D) and the U.S. Missile Defense Agency (MDA) report successful completion of a series of tests on the "David?s Sling" weapons system, a missile-defense system central to Israel?s multilayer antimissile array.
The David’s Sling Weapon System project is a cooperative effort between the United States and Israel to develop a defense for Israel against large-caliber rockets and short-range ballistic missiles.
During testing, threat-representative targets were launched and successfully intercepted by Stunner missiles; the system's Multi-Mission Radar (MMR) detected the target after launch and transferred flight information to the Battle Management Center (BMC), which calculated the defense plan. The system launched interceptors, ran through all flight phases, and engaged the targets as planned. Preliminary analysis indicates that test objectives were successfully achieved. Information garnered during the test is being analyzed by program engineers and will be used for ongoing development and fielding of the David’s Sling system.
The prime contractor for the David’s Sling Weapon System Program is Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, with Raytheon Missile Systems as a subcontractor. The MMR was developed by Elta, a subsidiary of Israel Aerospace Industries; while the BMC is run by Elisra, an Elbit subsidiary.
