Israel Deploys 'David's Sling' (Missile Defense)

Israel has sped of deployment of their intermediate missile defense system, David's Sling. It is for missiles to large for the Iron Dome, but not large enough for an Arrow interceptor. It will also act as a back up for larger, potentially WMD tipped ballistic missiles that the Arrow misses.

Israel is really changing up the game here; again.

http://news.yahoo.com/israel-says-successfully-tests-more-powerful-rocket-interceptor-191755476--finance.html

"A new Israeli air shield against rockets more powerful than those intercepted by Iron Dome in the Gaza conflict passed its first field test last week after being rushed through development, officials said on Sunday.

They said that David's Sling, billed as Israel's answer to the longer-range missiles of Lebanese Hezbollah guerrillas and Syria, shot down a target rocket in a secret November 20 desert trial that coincided with fierce shelling exchanges between Israel and Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
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A source in Israel's defense industries said David's Sling was originally scheduled for live trials in 2013, and that this was brought forward "given the general sense of urgency".

David's Sling uses technology similar to that of the Iron Dome system, which Israel says had a 90 percent success rate, intercepting 421 of the rockets fired from Gaza in eight days of fighting that ended in a ceasefire on Wednesday.
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"The completion of the program will be a significant layer for Israel's multi-tiered anti-missile defense system," Defense Minister Ehud Barak said in a statement
Iron Dome is the lowest of the tiers, tackling the guerrilla rockets of Gaza and Hezbollah. It was originally meant to handle ranges of up to 70 km (45 miles), but designers say this is being expanded to some 250 km (155 miles).

The top-most tier is Israel's Arrow ballistic interceptor, designed to shoot down long-range Iranian and Syrian missiles at atmospheric altitudes - high enough so that any non-conventional warheads they might carry would be safely destroyed.
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David's Sling would serve as a bridge between Iron Dome and Arrow, Israeli officials say, blocking out rockets that prove too fast and powerful for Iron Dome, or any ballistic missiles that are missed by Arrow."