The Israeli Air Force (IAF) has just released a stunning new video of their anti-missile system David’s Sling, successfully blasting target drones simulating incoming missiles right out of the sky.
Named for the Old Testament character’s weapon that downed the seemingly unstoppable Goliath, the new system is expected to dramatically extend the range and effectiveness of the country’s notoriously robust anti-missile defense system known as Iron Dome.
Iron Dome Anti-Missile System Unmatched Worldwide
Due to their location and historical enmity with many of their surrounding countries, the Israeli people are under constant threat of aerial attacks. While a number of such recent assaults have featured low-cost drones, short-range rockets, and mortars, the country and its people still face the occasional threat from short and medium-range cruise missiles.
In recent decades this situation led to country to develop the infamous Iron Dome anti-missile system that uses conventional rockets to blast incoming threats before they can reach populated areas. Even more recently, that system has been upgraded with an anti-drone and anti-mortar laser battery known as Iron Beam. Just last year, the Israeli Minister of Defense Tweeted out a short video of the Iron Dome destroying its target with stunning accuracy.
Israel has successfully tested the new “Iron Beam” laser interception system.
This is the world’s first energy-based weapons system that uses a laser to shoot down incoming UAVs, rockets & mortars at a cost of $3.50 per shot.
It may sound like science fiction, but it’s real. pic.twitter.com/nRXFoYTjIU
— Naftali Bennett בנט (@naftalibennett) April 14, 2022
Still, both Iron Dome and Iron Beam are mainly effective against short-range threats, leaving a gap in the protection of the Israeli people. Now, the country is looking to close that gap with David’s Sling, which is designed to target and destroy medium-range missiles, including the types used in a 2018 attack from Syria.
David’s Sling Anti-Missile System Shows Off Unprecedented Accuracy in Latest Video
According to a statement from the Israeli government and contractor Rafael Defense, David’s Sling passed its recent test with flying colors against “advanced threats,” a result that “significantly improv(es) the air defense layers of the State of Israel.”
“The existing capabilities of the system were tested in a number of challenging scenarios, which prove the capabilities of the system during (the) conflict,” the statement reads, calling the successful test an “important milestone.”
While the recent test was designed to show improvements in the system since a failed intercept of a Syria-launched attack in 2018, the anti-missile system had already proven effective in a May 2023 interception of a rocket fired from Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Still, both the failed and successful intercept provided Israeli officials with critical real-world data that allowed them to upgrade the system. Those upgrades have been kept classified, but the results are evident in the latest test video.
“Through testing this model, we have successfully demonstrated our ability to carry out successful interceptions even in the most challenging scenarios. Said Brig. Gen. Eyal Grinboim, the IAF’s chief of air staff. “Soldiers have proven their outstanding operational capabilities yet again.”
New System Improves Chances Against Emerging Medium Range Threats
While Iron Dome and Iron Beam continue to serve as the primary defense against short-range aerial threats from Gaza and Lebanon, amongst others, the new David’s Sling is hoping to plug the medium-range threat gap between that system and the Israeli Arrow anti-missile system that is designed to intercept long-range threats.
No definitive date has been offered for the actual deployment of David’s Sling, but given the system’s successful use in May and this recent test, it seems like it is only a matter of time before this biblically-inspired anti-missile system takes its place alongside those other systems in defending the Israeli people from Islamic Jihadists terrorists as well as neighboring governments who continue to threaten the Middle Eastern nation.
Christopher Plain is a Science Fiction and Fantasy novelist and Head Science Writer at The Debrief. Follow and connect with him on Twitter, learn about his books at plainfiction.com, or email him directly at christopher@thedebrief.org.