David's Sling

David's Sling (Hebrew: קלע דוד, romanized: Kela David), also formerly known as Magic Wand (Hebrew: שרביט קסמים, romanized: Sharvit Ksamim), is an Israel Defense Forces military system jointly developed by the Israeli defense contractor Rafael Advanced Defense Systems and the American defense contractor Raytheon, that became operational in 2017. It is designed to intercept enemy planes, drones, tactical ballistic missiles, medium to long-range rockets and cruise missiles, fired at ranges from 40 to 300 km (25 to 190 mi). David's Sling is intended to replace the MIM-23 Hawk and MIM-104 Patriot in the Israeli arsenal. The system's Stunner missile is designed to intercept the newest generation of tactical ballistic missiles at low altitude, such as the Russian Iskander and the Chinese DF-15, using on-board dual CCD/IR seekers to distinguish between decoys and the actual warhead of the missile, in addition to tracking by Elta EL/M-2084 active electronically scanned array multi-mode radar. The multi-stage interceptor consists of a solid-fuel rocket motor booster, followed by an asymmetrical kill vehicle with advanced steering for super-maneuverability during the kill-stage. A three-pulse motor provides additional acceleration and maneuverability during the terminal phase. David's Sling became operational in April 2017. David's Sling serves as part of the second tier of Israel's theater missile defense system. The name David's Sling comes from the biblical account of David and Goliath. It forms one level of Israel's future multi-tiered missile defense system, which also includes Arrow 2, Arrow 3, Iron Dome, and Iron Beam.