Profile
- Type
- Medium- to long-range air and missile defense system
- Conflict side
- Israel
- Origin
- Israel / United States
- Service note
- Entered Israeli service in 2017; combat use documented from 2023 onward
Air Defense
David's Sling
David's Sling is the middle tier of Israel's layered missile-defense network, co-developed by Rafael and Raytheon/RTX around the hit-to-kill Stunner interceptor. It is designed to cover threats above Iron Dome and below Arrow, including heavy rockets, cruise missiles, aircraft, drones, and tactical ballistic missiles, with recent combat use documented against rockets from Gaza and Lebanon and Iranian ballistic missiles.
Operation Shield and ArrowIsraelIsrael-Hamas WarIsraelIsrael-Hezbollah ConflictIsraelIsrael-Iran ConflictIsrael
- Conflict side
- Israel
- Built in
- IsraelUnited States
Service History
- In service
- Operational with Israel since 2017
- Used by
- Israel Defense Forces
- Wars
- Operation Shield and Arrow, Israel-Hamas War, Israel-Hezbollah Conflict, Israel-Iran Conflict
Production History
- Designer
- Rafael Advanced Defense Systems and Raytheon
- Designed
- Development began in the 2000s; U.S.-Israeli co-development agreement signed in 2008
- Built in
- IsraelUnited States
- Unit cost
- About $1 million per Stunner interceptor, according to open-source estimates
- Produced
- Full-rate production by the 2020s
- Variants
- Stunner interceptor, SkyCeptor export interceptor
Specifications
- Engagement range
- Approximately 40-300 km
- Interceptor
- Two-stage, multi-pulse Stunner hit-to-kill missile
- Targets
- Tactical ballistic missiles, medium- to long-range rockets, cruise missiles, aircraft, and drones
- Radar
- ELM-2084 active electronically scanned array multi-mission radar
- Launcher
- Trailer-mounted vertical firing unit carrying up to 12 interceptors
- Guidance
- Ground-radar datalink with terminal radar and electro-optical/imaging infrared seekers
- Intercept altitude
- Open-source references cite up to about 15 km
Conflict Usage
- Operation Shield and Arrow
- Side: IsraelRole: Medium-range rocket interception
Israeli air-defense forces used David's Sling during the May 2023 Israel-Palestinian Islamic Jihad fighting, including to shoot down a mid-range rocket fired toward Tel Aviv.
- Israel-Hamas War
- Side: IsraelRole: Long-range rocket interception
During the October 2023 Israel-Hamas War, Israel used David's Sling to intercept a Hamas Ayyash 250 long-range rocket launched from Gaza toward northern Israel.
- Israel-Hezbollah Conflict
- Side: IsraelRole: Rocket and missile interception
In September 2024, Israeli reporting said the IDF used David's Sling against a rocket or missile fired from Lebanon, after Hezbollah said it was targeting a Mossad base near Tel Aviv.
- Israel-Iran Conflict
- Side: IsraelRole: Ballistic missile interception
During the June 2025 Israel-Iran war, David's Sling was used against Iranian ballistic missiles, with Israeli reporting citing several successful interceptions of projectiles launched from about 1,500 kilometers away.
David's Sling Images
Related Weapon Systems
Iron DomeMobile short-range air and missile defense systemIron Dome is an Israeli mobile air and missile defense system built around the Tamir interceptor, EL/M-2084 radar, and battle-management fire control to defeat short-range rockets, artillery, mortars, and selected UAV threats. It is the lowest tier of Israel's layered missile-defense architecture and has been repeatedly documented defending Israeli population centers during recent rocket and missile campaigns from Gaza, Lebanon, and Iran.
Arrow-3Exo-atmospheric anti-ballistic missile interceptorArrow-3 is the upper-tier interceptor in Israel's Arrow Weapon System, developed with U.S. support to destroy ballistic missiles outside the atmosphere. Its hit-to-kill kill vehicle, long-range engagement envelope, and integration with Israeli radar and battle-management systems make it a strategic layer above Arrow-2, David's Sling, and Iron Dome, with documented combat use against Houthi and Iranian ballistic missile attacks.
PAC-3 MSEHit-to-kill Patriot interceptor missilePAC-3 MSE is the Missile Segment Enhancement variant of Lockheed Martin's Patriot PAC-3 hit-to-kill interceptor family. It adds a larger dual-pulse solid rocket motor, larger fins, upgraded actuators, and higher performance for defeating ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, and aircraft while retaining compatibility with modern Patriot launchers.
S-350 VityazMedium-range surface-to-air missile systemThe S-350 Vityaz is a Russian mobile medium-range surface-to-air missile system developed for layered air defense against aircraft, helicopters, cruise missiles, UAVs, and some ballistic targets. In the Russia-Ukraine War it has appeared in Russian air-defense deployments near Ukraine and in later reporting from eastern Ukraine, where Ukrainian sources and defense reporting documented S-350 equipment being struck or destroyed.
S-400 TriumfLong-range mobile surface-to-air missile systemThe S-400 Triumf, NATO reporting name SA-21 Growler, is a Russian road-mobile long-range air defense system built around networked command, search radar, engagement radar, and transporter-erector-launchers. It is designed to engage aircraft, UAVs, cruise missiles, and some ballistic missile threats, and Russian S-400 batteries in occupied Crimea have been a recurring target in Ukraine's campaign against Russian air defenses.
SM-3Ship- and shore-launched exo-atmospheric ballistic missile interceptorThe SM-3 is a Standard Missile family interceptor for Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense ships and Aegis Ashore sites. Unlike area air-defense missiles built around blast-fragmentation warheads, it uses a hit-to-kill kinetic vehicle to destroy ballistic missiles in the midcourse phase outside the atmosphere, with Block IB and Block IIA variants forming a key U.S. and allied upper-tier missile-defense layer.Sources
David's Sling System and SkyCeptor MissilePublisher: RTX / Raytheon | Note: Manufacturer source for role, co-development, Stunner interceptor, SkyCeptor variant, and hit-to-kill design. | Accessed: 2026-06-20David's Sling (Israel)Publisher: CSIS Missile Threat | Note: Reference source for system components, engagement range, radar, launcher, seeker, service entry, and development history. | Accessed: 2026-06-20File:David-Sling-0001.jpgPublisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: Image provenance and licensing page for the primary David's Sling launch image. | Accessed: 2026-06-20Ceasefire talks ongoing as over 500 Gaza rockets shot at IsraelPublisher: The Jerusalem Post | Note: Directly documents David's Sling use against a mid-range rocket during Operation Shield and Arrow. | Accessed: 2026-06-20IDF launches first localized raids into Gaza ahead of expected ground invasionPublisher: The Times of Israel | Note: Directly documents David's Sling intercepting a Hamas Ayyash 250 rocket during the Israel-Hamas War. | Accessed: 2026-06-20IDF uses David's Sling to intercept rocket from LebanonPublisher: The Jerusalem Post | Note: Supports direct conflict use in the Israel-Hezbollah Conflict by documenting IDF use of David's Sling against a rocket or missile fired from Lebanon. | Accessed: 2026-06-20Eyeing future missile threats, Israel completes complex David's Sling testsPublisher: The Times of Israel | Note: Supports direct conflict use in the Israel-Iran Conflict by documenting David's Sling deployment and successful interceptions during the June 2025 war. | Accessed: 2026-06-20