Citing Dimona and Arad hits, report claims Israel using ‘less advanced munitions’ against Iran missiles; however, same interceptors were used successfully hours earlier

The Wall Street Journal claims that Israel has “begun rationing its use of high-end missile interceptors” and instead is using “less advanced munitions” to try to down Iran’s ballistic missile attacks.

“A pair of Iranian ballistic missiles recently scored direct hits on the towns of Dimona and Arad,” it specifies, referring to impacts on March 21, “after Israel tried and failed to intercept them with modified versions of less advanced munitions.”

The report comes after the medium-range David’s Sling air defense system failed to intercept the two Iranian ballistic missiles that struck the southern cities.

However, the report — which cites former officials and experts — is not entirely accurate, as the Israeli Air Force has been using the David’s Sling since the beginning of the current war, as well as during the June 2025 war with Iran, to successfully shoot down Iranian ballistic missiles.

According to the Israeli Air Force’s probes of the incidents in Dimona and Arad, there was no connection between the errors that led to the missile impacts, which injured nearly 200 people and caused extensive damage.

The fact that the incidents occurred in the same area within two hours was entirely coincidental, the IAF also said.

Two missile attacks on the same area in southern Israel hours earlier were successfully intercepted using the same air defense system, the David’s Sling, according to the IAF.

Israel operates a multi-tiered missile defense array, with the Arrow 3 currently the country’s most advanced long-range missile defense system, meant to intercept ballistic missiles — like the kind fired from Iran — while they are still outside of Earth’s atmosphere.

The use of the medium-range system instead of the Arrow 3 to shoot down Iranian ballistic missiles is believed to be part of the military’s efforts to conserve Israel’s stockpile of expensive long-range interceptors.

While each David’s Sling missile costs roughly $1 million to use, the Arrow 3 system can cost Israel over $2.5 million per use.

While not initially designed to intercept long-range ballistic missiles, David’s Sling was first used against Iranian ballistic missiles during the June 2025 war, successfully shooting down several projectiles launched from 1,500 kilometers (932 miles) away.

David’s Sling has been used in the current war as well, downing numerous Iranian missiles. This comes after the Defense Ministry said in early February that it had completed a series of “complex” tests with the David’s Sling aimed at “upgrading readiness for future threats.”

Military officials say the upgrades give the IAF more options when it comes to shooting down Iranian missiles.