Israeli David’s Sling air and missile defence system completes upgrade tests

The Israeli Missile Defense Organization (IMDO), in conjunction with Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, the US Missile Defense Agency (MDA) and US company Raytheon, has performed a key upgrade to the Israel Defense Forces’ (IDF’s) David’s Sling air and missile defence system, the Israeli Ministry of Defense (IMOD) announced on 4 August 2025.

“The David’s Sling system successfully performed a series of live-fire tests, with scenarios simulating future threats, enhancing the system’s capabilities and significantly improving its ability to face the IDF’s various combat arenas,” the IMOD stated.

“The successful tests represent another significant breakthrough in upgrading the system, which has already demonstrated high operational capabilities during the Swords of Iron War and Operation ‘Rising Lion’ with successful operational interceptions that saved lives and prevented substantial damage,” the IMOD added, referring to the IDF’s campaign against Hamas in Gaza and strikes against Iran respectively.

David’s Sling is designed to counter various threats, including rockets, tactical ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, aircraft and bomb-laden unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). The system constitutes a central defensive layer within Israel’s comprehensive multi-layered air and missile defence architecture, with the Arrow Weapon System layer beyond it, focusing on ballistic missile threats, and the Iron Dome system (and in future the Iron Beam system) below it, focusing on shorter-range threats.

The David’s Sling system is jointly developed by the IMDO within the IMOD’s Directorate of Defense Research & Development (DDR&D) and the MDA. Rafael Advanced Defense Systems is the primary contractor for the system, with Raytheon Missile Systems as a subcontractor, while the system’s Multi-Mode Radar is developed by Elta (a subsidiary of Israel Aerospace Industries) and its battle management command centre is developed by Elbit Systems.

Major General (Res) Amir Baram, the IMOD director general, was quoted by the ministry as saying, “We’re facing an intense decade ahead that will demand robust offensive and defensive capabilities. Our adversaries continue testing our air defence systems, so we must keep upgrading them while fast-tracking breakthrough technologies that will give us a decisive edge and boost our operational capabilities. These successful tests mark another major enhancement to Israel’s multi-layered air and missile defense architecture that performed exceptionally during the Swords of Iron War and Operation ‘Rising Lion’, saving countless lives and preventing damage.”

Brigadier General (Res) Dr Daniel Gold, Head of the DDR&D, added, “Israel’s multi-layered air and missile defence architecture is the result of decades of development and research at the Ministry’s DDR&D, in strategic partnership with the defence industries and the US MDA. The exceptional success of the David’s Sling system during Operation ‘Rising Lion’ demonstrated our capability to protect civilian lives and provide solutions to the most advanced threats in the world. The system’s latest upgrade represents another significant milestone, expanding our operational response range and strengthening Israel’s deterrent capacity.”

“Alongside recent operational successes, this campaign further cements David’s Sling as one of the world’s leading air and missile defence systems,” stated Rafael CEO Yoav Tourgeman. “The testing integrated new capabilities across a wide range of challenging scenarios, with the system demonstrating outstanding performance against diverse advanced threats.”