Israel tests upgraded David’s Sling, anticipating an intense decade ahead

Israel has tested an upgraded version of its David’s Sling air defense system, drawing on experience from the Swords of Iron War and Operation Rising Lion. The improvements are intended to prepare the country’s air defense systems for “an intense decade ahead that will demand robust offensive and defensive capabilities,” Maj. Gen. (Res.) Amir Baram, Director General of the Israeli MoD, said in an August 6 press release.

“Our adversaries continue testing our air defense systems, so we must keep upgrading them while fast-tracking breakthrough technologies that will give us a decisive edge and boost our operational capabilities,” Maj. Gen. Baram continued, underlining the ongoing threats posed to the country from all directions.

During the tests, David’s Sling conducted live-fire interceptions of targets representative of future threats and scenarios, the press release states. Mosh Patel, Director of the Israeli Missile Defence Organisation, said that “Our teams, together with the industries, pushed the system’s operational envelope through this test series and expanded its capabilities against emerging, sophisticated threats.” Another representative added that the tests demonstrated an “expanded operational response range,” which, together with Patel’s comments, indicates that the system’s range has been increased.

The system is commonly attributed an engagement envelope of 40–300 km, including by the usually reliable CSIS Missile Defense Project. It is capable of intercepting cruise missiles and drones, as well as the very challenging threat of ballistic missiles. It deploys a kinetic interceptor called Stunner, which accelerates into the target using a complex set of electro-optical sensors to find the threat in flight. It intercepted a ballistic missile for the first time in June this year, supporting the Arrow air defense system, which is a longer-range system.

David’s sling, longer ropes, or a bigger rock?

Video footage of a David’s Sling interception in 2020. Credit: IDF

The press release does not provide any specifics on the anticipated threats that the system has been upgraded to intercept. However, there are some indications from previous reporting on the exchanges between Israel and Iran. First and foremost is the question of cost; the Israeli outlet Globes cites an estimated cost of between $1 billion and $1.5 billion in Arrow interceptors between October 2023 and June 2025.

Arrow missiles are expensive, with estimates varying between $1.5 million and $3.5 million per missile. This is partly due to their performance, which is reported to provide an interception rate above 90%. Arrow 2 is designed for exoatmospheric interceptions (targets flying outside of the Earth’s atmosphere), while Arrow 3 is designed for endo- and exoatmospheric interceptions, meaning it can intercept targets both in and outside the atmosphere. It is the primary layer of defense against ballistic missiles, with David’s Sling and Iron Dome providing lower-cost interceptions of cruise missiles, rockets, and drones.

If the David’s Sling missile and system can be repurposed to more effectively address ballistic missiles—which a range increase might allow—then it could contribute to the ballistic missile defense mission, relieving some of the expense and stress on the magazine depth for Arrow missiles. This drive can be seen throughout Israel’s layered air defense network. The country has operationally proven high-energy laser interceptors to counter rockets and cruise missiles, which will provide a much cheaper interceptor than the Iron Dome or David’s Sling per interception, and reduce the demand on missile stocks.

The cost of interception is likely a significant problem for Israel. At this year’s RUSI IAMD conference, Brigadier General Ran Kochav, former commander of the Israeli Defence Force’s Air Defence Command, indicated that tens of thousands of rockets and missiles had been fired at Israel. For context, Iron Dome is thought to cost around $50,000 per interceptor, which indicates a total cost of $500 million for 10,000 interceptions, assuming one missile per threat.

Calibre comment

Israel is developing the Arrow 4, which is designed to address high-end threats like hypersonic missiles. However, Russia’s continued assault on Ukraine, as well as Iran’s on Israel, is indicative of a growing trend in air threats: the question of mass. Significant effort is being devoted to hypersonic missile defense despite the cost of those missiles likely limiting the ability to produce them in their thousands. The interceptors will more than likely cost almost as much as those missiles, similarly reducing the number that can be produced. However, cheaper threats-the Russian Geran being a prime example-and even conventional ballistic missiles could come to present a far more challenging threat if they are massed against a single target. A high-capacity air defense system like Iron Dome may only have 20 interceptors per launcher, which can be quickly overwhelmed by large successive waves of cheap drones that would nonetheless have to be intercepted, regardless of cost. So, despite the complexity and difficulty of intercepting a hypersonic missile, cheap weapons could present an additional threat that is also very difficult to address.

By Sam Cranny-Evans, published on August 8, 2025. Credit for the lead image is Rafael Advanced Defence Systems and the Israeli MoD. It shows the David’s Sling during the tests of the improved capability.