What are Israel’s Iron Dome, David’s Sling and Arrow missile defences?
Its “Stunner” missiles are designed to shoot down short-range, mid-range and long-range ballistic missiles at low altitudes. Like Iron Dome, David’s Sling only targets missiles which threaten built-up areas.
Both David’s Sling and Iron Dome are designed also to intercept aircraft, drones and cruise missiles.
Each David’s Sling missile costs about $1m.
The system was used in September 2024 to shoot down a ballistic missile fired by Hezbollah from Lebanon.
The IDF said this was an Iranian-made Qadr-1 – a medium-range ballistic missile that can carry a warhead of between 700kg and 1,000kg.
Hezbollah said the missile was aimed at the headquarters of Mossad in Tel Aviv, but the IDF said it was heading towards a residential area.
David’s Sling was also used in May 2023 when Palestinian Islamic Jihad, a militant group in Gaza, launched over 1,100 missiles at Israel. Israel says it shot down 96% of the rockets which posed a threat.
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