Air defense is becoming extremely important these days. The US and Europe have shipped a number of air defense systems, including Patriot PAC-3, to Ukraine to try and stop the onslaught of Russian missiles, glide bombs, cruise missiles and drones.
Israel has been building a layered and integrated air defense system to deal with rocket, missile, cruise missile and drone threats. In the latest five day clash the Gazans launched launched at least 850 rockets and missiles aimed at Israel.
Israel’s advantage is its integrated and layered air defense system and sophisticated analytical capabilities (probably based to a degree on artificial intelligence). Ukraine does not have an integrated air defense system. It has cueing from drones and from US surveillance assets, but there is no automatic way targets are assessed.
Around 40 percent of the Gaza missiles either fell into unpopulated areas, or fell short and landed on Gazan territory. Iron Dome intercepted most of the short range missiles fired by the Gazans. But a technical glitch, still not explained, led to some deaths (12 reported) when Iron Dome broke off a few engagements. Even so, the Iron Dome score card, according to Israel’s Ministry of Defense, was an effectiveness of 90.5 percent.
Iron Dome is designed to shoot down missiles that can damage populated areas or strategic assets. This is done by Iron Dome’s radars and computers that can read the trajectory and impact point of incoming missiles, all in a fraction of a second.
Iron Dome is designed to deal with short range rockets and missiles. It can also be tweaked to take out drones and cruise missiles.
Yet two “heavy” missiles, one aimed at the Tel Aviv area, and the other at the Jerusalem area, were destroyed by Israel’s David’s Sling, not Iron Dome.
About David’s Sling
David’s Sling was designed to deal with medium range ballistic missiles, medium to long range rockets, and other threats. The system is part of Israel’s layered air defense network that includes Iron Dome, Iron Beam, Arrow 2 and Arrow 3. There may be other components in the network as well. The complete system is intended to protect Israel’s territory from short, medium and long range threats, both tactical and strategic.
David’s Sling works with a sophisticated, Israeli-developed AESA radar, a command center, and launchers. The whole product is jointly funded by the US and Israel, and is produced by Rafael Advanced Defense Systems in Israel, and Raytheon in the United States.
The entire David’s Sling package is very sophisticated, but the most unique component is the intercept missile, called Stunner.
Stunner is a two stage intercept missile using a unique dual sensor (radar and imaging infrared), that employs hit to kill technology (unlike Iron Dome which has a proximity fuse and fragmentation warhead). Stunner is designed to avoid decoys and hit only real threats, and thanks to its IR imaging sensor, it can tell them apart. Stunner also is said to avoid enemy jamming, as it can operate autonomously.
Stunner is manufactured partly in the United States and the rest in Israel.
David’s Sling has proven attractive in the export market. Finland is buying the system. The Stunner missile is also being marketed by Raytheon and Rafael under the export brand name, SkyCeptor. Romania has purchased SkyCeptor and is coproducing them.
SkyCeptor and Stunner can work on Patriot (PAC-3) launchers, significantly enhancing Patriot capabilities in range and accuracy. Along with Romania, Poland also is buying SkyCeptor for its Patriot installations. A key advantage, along with advanced technology, is that SkyCeptor is less expensive than advanced Patriot interceptors. A PAC-3 missile costs between $6.1 and $8.3 million per missile. SkyCeptor is said to cost $1 million per missile. Raytheon is marketing SkyCeptor to the US Army, which operates US Patriots. Other candidates for SkyCeptor could be Korea, Japan, Taiwan, Saudi Arabia and UAE.
What Missiles Were Shot Down by David’s Sling
It isn’t clear what type of missile David’s Sling shot down. Gaza is roughly 69.83 km from Tel Aviv and 80 km from Jerusalem, which means the missiles fired need to have sufficient range to cover these targets.
Some have said it was a Badr-3 missile, which has a large warhead but is too short in range (around 15 km or less). What looks like it might have been a Badr-3 crashed into a parking lot in the town of Netivot, which is located between Beersheba and Gaza, about 13km distant from Gaza. The crashed missile had a diameter of 210 mm and seems to have been hit by an Iron Dome intercept.
The Gazans could have fired off a Badr-1 missile (like Badr-3 it is an Iranian design). There is a guided version of Badr-1 with a claimed 3 meter CEP (circular error of probability of hitting a target). It is said to have a range of 150 km.
Badr-1 and Badr-3 are Iranian in origin.
Another candidate is the Syrian-manufactured Khaiber-1 (M-302). It has a 302mm diameter and carriers a 150 kg (330 lb.) warhead and a range of more than 100 km. Reports say that a number of these missiles were sent to Gaza. The M-302 is a Chinese design.
For years Israel has been trying to cut off the supply of missiles and missile components to both Gaza and Hezbollah, both in Syria and Lebanon. This has included numerous air strikes at transport and assembly plants, and hits on warehouses and other storage dumps. Israel has also tried to intercept shipments from the sea, and sometimes overland coming across Israel in trucks with false papers. But despite these efforts, both Hamas and Hezbollah keep getting missiles and missile components and foreign support, especially from Iran and Syria.
The End Game
While David’s Sling has only been used twice engaging real threats, its performance so far is flawless. Israel’s enemies are rapidly acquiring more sophisticated and dangerous missiles, thus Israel has to stay ahead technologically and operationally. On the whole, in the lates Gaza episode, the layered and integrated air defense system in Israel appears successful.
Baruch HaShem