Israeli missile defense is key to fighting terror rockets from many enemies. Illustrative photo of spent Rockets fired from Gaza. By Joshua Spurlock.
In just a matter of days last week, Israel experienced missile attacks from both the north and south, a disturbing reoccurrence in a region rife with conflict. To better defend against such attacks, Israel will rely on not one, but four different missile defense systems—the final one of which will at last be operational in less than two weeks according to the schedule reported by the IDF Blog. Along those lines, the Israel Air Force Twitter page reported on Monday that the David’s Sling system “successfully completed an operational preparedness inspection and will be declared #operational in April.”
David’s Sling, which the IDF Blog said is designed to intercept “large-caliber rockets, short-range ballistic missiles, and other developing threats”—will be a key defense with enemies such as Hezbollah, Syria and Iran.
“The David’s Sling defense system will strengthen Israel’s defense efforts with its capability to intercept high-quality missiles,” the IDF Blog quoted a senior air force official as saying at a press briefing. “I’m positive that all of our air defense systems together will strengthen our effectiveness.”
The David’s Sling system will join the Iron Dome, Arrow 2, and Arrow 3 systems. The Iron Dome has been highly successful at intercepting short-range missiles over the years, but has a limited range and must be moved to hotspots. David’s Sling can strike bigger targets and can cover all of Israel from one permanent location, noted the IDF Blog.
The senior air force official was quoted by the IDF Blog as saying that Hamas and Iran enhance their missile capabilities; Israel seeks to “stay one step ahead.”
Israeli Prime Minister’s Office spokesman Ofir Gendelman—posting a video of David’s Sling on Twitter—said in his Tweet that “Israel’s defense against enemy ballistic missiles is getting a boost” with the addition of David’s Sling.
(By Joshua Spurlock, www.themideastupdate.com, March 20, 2017)