Israel Successfully Tests New Missile Defense System - East Idaho News
World News

Israel Successfully Tests New Missile Defense System

  Published at

GETTY W 031212 IsraelMap?  SQUARESPACE CACHEVERSION=1353924545536iStockphoto/Thinkstock(JERUSALEM) — Israel’s defense ministry announced on Sunday that it has successfully tested a new missile defense system called David’s Sling.

Israel already employs its Iron Dome short-range defense system to intercept rockets fired from the Gaza Strip, as well as a long-range system called the Arrow, which is designed to counter missiles fired from Iran.

The ministry says David’s Sling is designed to intercept missiles fired from a distance of 31 to 155 miles and is intended to bridge the gap between Iron Dome and Arrow.

David’s Sling is scheduled to be ready for deployment in 2014.  It is being developed jointly by an Israeli defense firm and the U.S. company Raytheon.

The announcement of the successful test came just four days after a ceasefire between Israel and Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip ended more than a week of air strikes and rocket attacks between the two sides.

Copyright 2012 ABC News Radio

SUBMIT A CORRECTION