The interceptor everyone forgets sits between Iron Dome and Arrow

In short: Israel’s air defense is not two systems, it is a stack, and the layer in the middle does the work nobody talks about. David’s Sling covers the medium range that Iron Dome cannot reach and Arrow is too expensive to waste on. Understanding that gap explains why the whole architecture holds together.

Most coverage treats missile defense as a duel between Iron Dome and incoming rockets. That picture is wrong. The real design is layered by range and altitude, and each layer exists to protect the one above it from being overwhelmed. David’s Sling, built by Rafael with Raytheon, is the layer that catches what falls between the cracks.

קראו גם: The interceptor gets the headline, but the radar wins the fight · The million-dollar interceptor that exists because Iron Dome cannot reach high enough · The best interceptor is the one you never fire alone

Why a middle layer exists at all

Iron Dome is tuned for short-range rockets and artillery, targets flying up to about 70 kilometers. Arrow handles ballistic missiles high in or above the atmosphere. Between them sits a wide band, cruise missiles, drones, and medium-range ballistic threats flying 40 to 300 kilometers. That band is exactly what David’s Sling was designed to close, the same logic behind why multilayer defense gives higher protection than any single system.

The ranges overlap on purpose. Overlap means a threat that slips past one layer still meets the next, and no single failure opens the sky.

What makes the Stunner missile different

David’s Sling fires the Stunner interceptor, and its design breaks a common assumption. It carries no warhead. Instead it destroys the target by direct collision, a hit-to-kill approach that relies on precision rather than a blast radius. This is where the radar and guidance matter more than the missile itself, echoing the point that the interceptor gets the headline but the radar wins the fight.

• Two-stage design: a rocket booster followed by a maneuvering kill vehicle.
• Dual seeker: radar and electro-optical sensors working together for terminal accuracy.
• Hit-to-kill: kinetic impact instead of a proximity warhead.
• Cost tier: cheaper than an Arrow interceptor, far pricier than an Iron Dome Tamir.

That cost position is the point. You do not want to burn an Arrow on a target David’s Sling can handle, and you cannot ask Iron Dome to reach that far.

How the layers decide who fires

The stack only works if the layers coordinate. A shared command network tracks each threat, predicts its path, and assigns it to the cheapest layer that can reach it. Firing the wrong interceptor wastes money and leaves a gap, which is why the best interceptor is the one you never fire alone. According to the overview of David’s Sling, the system reached operational service with the Israeli Air Force in 2017 after joint development with the United States.

Watch the assignment logic, not the launch. When a salvo comes in mixed, short rockets alongside a medium-range missile, the network splits the work across layers in seconds. The medium layer is what keeps the expensive top layer free for the threats only it can stop.