In the aftermath of the David’s Sling aerial defense system shooting down an Iranian ballistic missile in June 2025, the Defense Ministry announced new successful shoot-down drills on Wednesday.
Both the Defense Ministry and Rafael, the David’s Sling manufacturer, refused to discuss the exact scenarios due to information security considerations.
But sources told The Jerusalem Post that the scenarios that David’s Sling addressed during the drill were more diverse than past scenarios.
Part of what was remarkable about David’s Sling shooting down an Iranian ballistic missile in June 2025 was that, traditionally, its range had been framed as focused on threats from 40 to 300 km. out, not threats from 1,500 km. out like Iranian ballistic missiles.
The drill took place in the shadow of a possible American attack on Iran, which could lead to the Islamic Republic lashing out with its ballistic missiles at Israel.
According to Rafael’s website, David’s Sling combines “innovative steering control, multi-propulsion, and an advanced seeker; it defeats high-volume asymmetric threats, including tactical ballistic missiles and large-caliber rockets.”
Using David’s Sling to shoot down ballistic missiles takes some of the pressure and heavy cost off of the Arrow 3, which is produced by Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) but is far more expensive.
A statement by the ministry on Wednesday said, “The test series was built on operational lessons learned from recent combat and included a wide range of challenging scenarios simulating existing and emerging threats. The success of these tests marks another significant technological and operational leap in the system’s upgrade, following its proven track record of high operational performance during the war, including successful interceptions that saved lives and prevented substantial damage.”
Israel and Iran learn aerial battle and defense tactics from each other
IDF officials have told the Post that both Israel and Iran learned new aerial battle and defense tactics from watching each other’s moves during two massive exchanges of fire in 2024 and the war in June 2025.
Originally developed as Israel’s mid-tier defense to shoot down cruise missiles that fly in a more line-drive fashion – as opposed to rockets, which fly in a predictable arch and are shot down by the Iron Dome – over time David’s Sling has evolved to shoot down any of the aerial threats that Israel faces, whether short, medium, or long range.
David’s Sling has now been in operational use for years and was used throughout the 2023-2025 Israel-Hamas War, including to defend against threats from Iran and Hezbollah.
The multi-mission radar for David’s Sling is developed by Elta, a subsidiary of the IAI, and the command center is developed by Elbit Systems.
Defense Ministry Missile Defense Director Moshe Patel stated, “During the war, and particularly during Operation Rising Lion, IMDO [Israeli Missile Defense Organization] personnel implemented real-time modifications and adaptations that dramatically enhanced the capabilities of the IAF [Israel Air Force] air & missile defense systems, with David’s Sling in particular.
“As part of our planned development programs, we conducted an extensive test series to assess future capabilities and the ability to contend with multiple, diverse threats. The series concluded with complete success, enabling a significant upgrade to the State of Israel’s air and missile defense architecture,” he said.