Israeli anti-missile system crowned at US Defense conference

David’s Sling earns technology pioneer award for ability to accurately shoot down medium-range missiles

The Israeli David’s Sling medium-range anti-missile system was given an award recognizing its groundbreaking achievement at a Tuesday security conference in the United States.

The system was crowned with the Technology Pioneer Award at the 2017 Multinational Ballistic Missile Defense confab in Boston.

The David’s Sling, also known as the Magic Wand, is designed to shoot down incoming missiles with ranges of 40-300 kilometers (25-190 miles), meaning it can be used against Hamas’s longer-range rockets, but would more likely be deployed against missiles fired by Hezbollah or Syria, such as the Iranian Fateh 110 or its Syrian equivalent, the M600.

It was developed in a joint project by the Israel Missile Defense Organization (IMDO) and the US Defense Department’s Missile Defense Agency, which was represented at the ceremony by its head, Vice Admiral James Syring.

IMDO Director Moshe Patel, who received the award on behalf of the State of Israel, said David’s Sling’s capabilities are a “significant breakthrough in the world of interception technology.”

“[David’s Sling] is an important component of Israel’s operational capability to
defend the country against regional missile threats,” he said.

It was the 30th year for the conference, whose awards committee was composed of representatives from the international defense community.

Judah Ari Gross contributed to this report.