BICOM

Senior officials from Israel’s political and military establishments attended yesterday’s ceremony to mark the operational integration of Israel’s newest air defence system.

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman led the ceremony at the Hatzor Air Base, near the Gaza Strip, to unveil David’s Sling, which is designed to intercept mid-range missiles with ranges of 75-300 kilometres.

David’s Sling is part of Israel’s multi-tiered missile defence system. The lowest layer is Iron Dome, capable of intercepting short-range rockets and mortar shells like those fired by Hamas from the Gaza Strip. The highest layer is the Arrow 2 and Arrow 3 systems, which are intended to engage long-range ballistic missiles. The Arrow was put in use for the first time on 17 March 2017, when it downed an incoming Syrian anti-aircraft missile.

Netanyahu said: “Today marks an important milestone in our joint development of cutting-edge missile defence technologies. We [US and Israel] face, both of us, increasingly sophisticated threats, but we have repeatedly demonstrated that together we can meet these challenges a lot better than any one of us could do so alone.”

He added: “I will reiterate, that whoever wants to strike us will be beaten, and those who threaten our existence are putting their own lives at risk.”

James D. Syring, head of the US Defence Department’s Missile Defence Agency (MDA), which helped develop David’s Sling, also attended the ceremony.

Syring said that yesterday ceremony marked “an important day for the security of Israel”.

IAF Commander, Maj. Gen. Amir Eshel, spoke at the ceremony and said: “The integration of a new operational capability adds another layer to Israel’s security barrier. We are proud to operate the best and most advanced integrative defence division in the world. We are obligated to continue developing our defence capabilities while looking to the future.”

Work on David’‎s Sling – formerly known a Magic Wand – began in 2006, under then Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and then Defence Minister Amir Peretz. The first interception test took place in 2012 and several successful tests have been carried out since then, which made the system operational.