David’s Sling Missile Defense System Enters Service

Image by getty images
JERUSALEM (JTA) — The David’s Sling missile defense system, which is designed to stop medium-range rockets, drones and cruise missiles, became operational in Israel.
They system entered into service with a ceremony on Sunday at the Hatzor military base in central Israel. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israeli Defense officials were in attendance at the ceremony launching David’s Sling.
“We have an absolute obligation to the security of Israel’s citizens. In the context of this obligation, we are working systematically to strengthen the offensive capability of the State of Israel against its enemies. We are also working, to the same degree, to strengthen our defensive capability against our enemies,” Netanyahu said hours before the ceremony at the weekly Cabinet meeting. With the introduction of David’s Sling “We are defending the home front,” he said.
“(W)hoever wants to strike us will be beaten, and those who threaten our existence are putting their own lives at risk,” Netanyahu said during the ceremony.
David’s Sling is intended to supplement the Iron Dome system, which targets short-range rockets, and the Arrow system for long-range ballistic missiles.
The U.S. defense contractor Raytheon collaborated on David’s Sling, also known as Magic Wand, with Israel’s state-owned Rafael Advanced Defense Systems Ltd.
The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.
Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.
At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.
This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism you rely on. Make a Passover gift today!
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Most Popular
- 1
Opinion My Jewish moms group ousted me because I work for J Street. Is this what communal life has come to?
- 2
News Student protesters being deported are not ‘martyrs and heroes,’ says former antisemitism envoy
- 3
Fast Forward Suspected arsonist intended to beat Gov. Josh Shapiro with a sledgehammer, investigators say
- 4
Politics Meet America’s potential first Jewish second family: Josh Shapiro, Lori, and their 4 kids
In Case You Missed It
-
Fast Forward Arson suspect attacked Shapiro over pro-Israel stances, search warrant says
-
Fast Forward Jewish family killed in New York plane crash
-
Fast Forward Israelis can no longer enter the Maldives after Palestinian-solidarity ban goes into effect
-
News Harvard is defying the Trump administration — after its own crackdown on academic freedom
-
Shop the Forward Store
100% of profits support our journalism
Republish This Story
Please read before republishing
We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines.
You must comply with the following:
- Credit the Forward
- Retain our pixel
- Preserve our canonical link in Google search
- Add a noindex tag in Google search
See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.
To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.