Iron Dome has been declared the only real Israeli winner in the recent Gaza fighting.
But it has a big brother coming on line soon, Magic Wand (aka David’s Sling):
The IDF is in the final stages of laying the groundwork to deploy the “Magic Wand” missile defense system in central Israel.The move to deploy the system comes on the heels of Israel’s deployment of the Iron Dome missile defense system in the south, which has provided efficient, but limited protection from rockets fired by terrorists operating in Hamas-run Gaza into southern Israel.If it works as advertised, Magic Wand will be able to operate in inclement weather and will fire intercepting missiles capable of changing course mid-flight. Whereas Iron Dome is intended to intercept short range rockets, Magic Wand is designed to intercept long-range missiles fired from Gaza and Lebanon…The Iron Dome and Magic Wand are two of the three systems Israel is developing and deploying as part of its multilayered missile and rocket defense apparatus. A third system – “Arrow 3” – is designed to thwart ballistic missiles outside the atmosphere, which could potentially carry nuclear warheads
The first live test is expected any day.
Bizarrely, some are suggesting Iron Dome and other missile defenses might be bad for Israel because it makes Israel less desperate for a peace deal:
But the problem of what to do with the people and the land Israel conquered in 1967 isn’t going away. In the near term, I very much hope Israel is able to stop the rocket attacks from Gaza. But in the long term, I hope the solution to Gaza will not be to simply build bigger and better walls — both on the ground and in the sky — while continuing to put off hard political decisions.
If only there were a magic wand to erase such foolishness.
Update — I knew the first test would be soon, I didn’t know it already had taken place. Via JPost:
Israel and the US in recent days successfully tested the David’s Sling defense system, designed to stop long-range rockets and cruise missiles, bringing the country a step closer to having an active defense shield against Hezbollah’s arsenal of projectiles.
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