What is David’s Sling?

About David’s Sling:

• It is an Israeli medium-range air defense system designed to defeat short-range ballistic missiles, large-caliber rockets, and cruise missiles.
• Co-developed with the United States, it occupies middle part of Israel’s sophisticated and multi-layer air-defense network, between the point-defense Iron Dome and upper-tier Arrow systems. 
• Features:
  • It incorporates a vertical missile firing unit, a fire control radar, a battle management/operator station, and the Stunner interceptor.
  • Each firing unit can hold up to 12 missiles.
  • It is designed to intercept ballistic and cruise missiles at ranges of 40 to 300 km.
  • It uses a three-pulse solid propellant motor to reach speeds of up to Mach 7.5; its first two pulses accelerate the missile through its initial trajectory while the third activates to maneuver the interceptor and increase speed prior to intercept.
  • Unlike Iron Dome’s, Stunner has no warhead, defeating targets by striking them directly. 
  • Each Stunner missile costs an estimated $1 million to produce.

Q1) What is Iron Dome?

It is Israel’s air missile defense system that can defend against short-range rockets, intercepting them in the air above the state. It is capable of successfully handling multiple rockets at a time. Developed by Rafael Advanced Defense Systems and Israel Aerospace Industries, the system became operational in March 2011.

Source: Hamas is testing the layers of Israel’s sophisticated air-defense network. Here’s how it fends off threats.

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