Jerusalem/Washington - A new Israeli air defense system being developed in partnership with the United States met all its objectives in a series of recent tests, US and Israeli officials said Wednesday, putting it on course for possible deployment by next year.
The system called David's Sling hit targets that represented potential threats to Israel, including longer-range missiles that could be fired from Syria and Lebanon, experts said.
Defense sources said tests for David's Sling took place last week and on Tuesday, the last day before a deadline for international negotiations on Iran's disputed nuclear program that have drawn sharp criticism from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Israel is also girding for threats from Syria and Lebanon's Iranian-backed Hezbollah militia.
“In the Middle East there is no time to waste,” a senior Israeli defense official involved in the program said.
David's Sling and its Stunner interceptor successfully hit “threat representative targets” in the tests, said Rick Lehner, spokesman for the US Missile Defense Agency, which carried out the third series of tests of the system together with the Israel Missile Defense Organization (IMDO).
“This ... is a major milestone in the development of the David's Sling weapon and provides confidence in future Israeli capabilities to defend against the developing threat,” he said.
MDA Director Vice Admiral James Syring said Washington was pleased with the test results and vowed to continue US assistance to Israel's missile defense technology efforts.
Known in Hebrew as Magic Wand, David's Sling is being developed and manufactured jointly by Israel's state-owned Rafael Advanced Defense Systems Ltd and Raytheon Co, a top US arms maker.
Raytheon said David's Sling would work with Israel's shorter-range Iron Dome to provide “another layer of missile defense protection for a critical ally nation.”
Designed to shoot down rockets with ranges of 100 km to 200 km (63 miles to 125 miles), aircraft or low-flying cruise missiles, it will fill the operational gap between Israel's Iron Dome short-range rocket interceptor and the Arrow ballistic missile interceptor, both already active.
The latest successful tests will likely strengthen support among US lawmakers for Israel's request for additional funds.
Israeli officials last month asked Congress for $317 million in additional funding for David's Sling and other Israeli missile defense programs, on top of $158 million in funding already requested by the Obama administration in its fiscal 2016 budget.
Riki Ellison, who heads the non-profit US Missile Defense Advocacy Alliance, said an operational system could be fielded by year's end.
“David's Sling would be immediately be placed to defeat potential longer-range rockets coming from Syria and Lebanon,” Ellison said, noting it would give Israel a cheaper and more persistent defense against cruise missiles, and short- to medium-range SCUD missiles.
The latest tests were conducted under unusually strict secrecy, and had been rescheduled at least once.
Ellison said the tests likely involved one of Israel's Blue Sparrow targets, which could simulate a Soviet-era SCUD-D missile with a warhead that separates from the missile's body.
Reuters