On Dec 15, Israel’s Ministry of Defense announced the completion of a major air and missile defense exercise, employing Iron Dome, David’s Sling, and Arrow weapons systems in a series of flight tests. In the exercise, the Israel Missile Defense Organization (IMDO), in cooperation with the U.S. Missile Defense Agency (MDA), successfully intercepted a variety of ballistic and cruise missile targets with the David’s Sling weapons system. In addition, the IMDO successfully tested the Iron Dome system against cruise missile targets and the Arrow weapons system’s long-range radar capabilities.

Iron Dome, David’s Sling, and Arrow make up Israel’s layered missile defense architecture, with Iron Dome designed to counter rockets, artillery, and cruise missiles, David’s Sling to counter cruise and theater ballistic missiles, and Arrow to counter longer-range ballistic missiles.