David's Sling

David's Sling (Hebrew: קלע דוד), also sometimes called Magic Wand (Hebrew: שרביט קסמים), is an Israel Defense Forces military system being jointly developed by the Israeli defense contractor Rafael Advanced Defense Systems Ltd. and the American defense contractor Raytheon, designed to intercept medium- to long-range rockets.

The inteceptor is a two-stage missile, with two targeting and guidance systems installed in its nose-tip (a radar and an electro-optic sensor). In 2006 Rafael was awarded a contract to develop a defense system to counter the threat of medium- to long-range rockets with ranges between 70km and 250km. In order to enable Israel to make use of the financial aid provided by the United States to further develop the system and to produce it, a partnership was established with Raytheon. In some of Raytheon's publications, the interceptor is referred to as "Stunner."

The increasing danger of rocket and missile fire against Israel (Qassam rocket fire from Gaza, Katyusha rocket fire from southern Lebanon, and Iran's ballistic missile arsenal) has led to the development of defense systems to counter this threat. In addition to the David's Sling system, which is designed to intercept medium- and long-range rockets, the Iron Dome system, with which it will be used in conjunction, has also been developed in order to intercept short-range rockets (0-70km), while the Arrow missile, designed to intercept ballistic missiles, is already in use.

=External Links=

* Information About the David's Sling System From the Raytheon Website