David's Sling

David’s Sling is a medium-to-long-range air defence system co-developed by Rafael Advanced Defense Systems and the American firm Raytheon, designed to fill the gap in Israel’s missile shield between the short-range Iron Dome and the exo-atmospheric Arrow family. Known in earlier programme documents as Magic Wand, the system entered operational service with the Israeli Air Force in April 2017 and is intended to engage large-calibre rockets, cruise missiles, short-range ballistic missiles, aircraft and drones at ranges from roughly 40 to 300 kilometres.

The interceptor at the heart of the system is the Stunner, a two-stage hit-to-kill missile distinguished by an asymmetric “dolphin” nose that houses a dual-mode seeker — combining a millimetre-wave radar with an imaging electro-optical channel for terminal guidance. Stunner carries no warhead; it relies on kinetic impact, with high-divert manoeuvring authority that lets it strike small, fast-moving targets late in their trajectory. A battery pairs the launchers with the IAI/Elta ELM-2084 multi-mission active electronically scanned array — the same radar family used by Iron Dome — and a battle management and weapon control suite built by Elisra. The result is a heavily automated engagement chain: the radar tracks and classifies incoming threats, the battle management software selects interceptors and times salvos, and the seeker fuses radar and EO returns in flight to discriminate the target from clutter or decoys.

David’s Sling first fired in anger in July 2018, when an Israeli battery launched two Stunners at what were assessed to be Syrian SS-21 tactical ballistic missiles; the Syrian rounds fell short and the interceptors were self-destructed in flight. The system saw far more substantive action from late 2023 onward, contributing to the defence of Israeli airspace against Houthi cruise missiles fired from Yemen and to the multi-layer response to the Iranian ballistic and cruise missile barrages of April and October 2024. Outside Israel, Finland became the first export customer in late 2023, signing a contract worth roughly 316 million euros for a system delivered from 2025; the purchase gave Helsinki its first operational ballistic-missile defence capability and its principal high-altitude air-defence layer.

Development has continued through successive software builds and missile blocks, with Rafael describing ongoing work to extend the engagement envelope and harden the system against saturation attacks of the kind seen in 2024. Within the broader market, David’s Sling sits between Patriot PAC-3 and longer-range systems such as Arrow 3 and THAAD, and remains one of the few non-American interceptors with a public combat record against modern ballistic and cruise threats.