Israel And The U.S. Successfully Test The David's Sling Weapon System

FOX News: Israel, US complete David's Sling Weapon System testing

The fifth series of tests -- and the most complicated -- of the David's Sling Weapon System went off without a hitch Wednesday in southern Israel, as the defense measure successfully intercepted and destroyed a threat target over the Mediterranean Sea.

According to a statement by the Ministry of Defense, the test examined the capabilities and performance of the entire system.

"This test campaign is a critical step in ensuring Israel has the capability to defense itself from a very real and growing threat," said U.S. Missile Defense Agency Director Vice Adm. Jim Syring. "We remain strongly committed to supporting Israel's development of a missile defense system."

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More News On Israel And The U.S. Successfully Testing The David's Sling Weapon System

Israel, US hold covert trial for 'David's Sling' missile interceptor -- Jerusalem Post
Upgraded David's Sling aces new anti-missile tests -- The Times of Israel
Successful tests of David's Sling missile defense system -- Arutz Sheva
New tests for David's Sling weapon system -- UPI
US and Israel Run Successful Tests of David’s Sling -- Defense News

Today's Unannounced U.S.-Israeli Missile Test In The Mediterranean Sea Scared A Lot Of People

An Unannounced U.S.-Israeli Missile Test Freaked A Lot of People Out This Morning -- Josh Voorhees, Slate

In what looked an awful lot like show of military force, Israel and the United States conducted a joint missile test over the Mediterranean this morning, according to the Israeli Defense Ministry. The ministry said a medium-range Sparrow missile was launched shortly after 9 a.m. local time and was successfully detected and tracked by the Arrow missile defense system.

The test itself wouldn't have normally been major news, but these aren't exactly normal times in the Middle East, as the world waits to see if the United States launches its own missile strikes at Syria. Making matters that much more intense was the fact that this morning's test was unannounced ahead of time. Reuters with the details:

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My Comment: I know that the reaction in Russia when the missile test was detected was to inform Russian President Putin right away. I could only imagine the scurrying around and concerns among around everyone in the region where the assumption (probably) was that this was a prelude to an attack on Syria. The question that now needs to be asked is .... was the secrecy behind the done deliberately .... so that the reaction to it was done to assess the early warning systems in Russia, Syria, and elsewhere.

Israel And The U.S. Carry Out A Joint Missile Test In The Mediterranean

A missile test launch in February. Photo by Courtesy of Israel's Defense Ministry.

Israel, U.S. Carry Out Joint Missile Test In The Mediterranean -- Haaretz/Reuters

Russia had detected the launch of two ballistic 'objects' toward the sea, Russian media reported earlier; U.S. Navy earlier denied having any involvement in the launch.

Israel and the U.S. carried out a missile test in the Mediterranean sea on Tuesday, Israel's Defense Ministry said in a statement, amid rising tensions in the region over the crisis in Syria.

The confirmation came after morning reports indicated that Russia had detected two ballistic "objects" launched toward the eastern Mediterranean from the central part of the same and a U.S. denial that its navy had been involved.

The Arrow III missile defense system was tested with a "sparrow" missile, which simulates a ballistic missile, and is launched from a plane, during the exercise.

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More News On Today's Unannounced Israel-U.S. Missile Test In The Mediterranean Sea

Unannounced Israel-U.S. Missile Test Fuels Jitters Over Syria -- Reuters
Israel says it conducts joint missile test with US -- AP
Israel test fires missile in eastern Mediterranean -- AFP
Israel Says It Held Joint Missile Test With U.S. -- Wall Street Journal
Israel announces successful joint missile test with US in Med, after Russia detects launch -- Jerusalem Post
Israel shoots test missile over sea, raising alarms -- Times of Israel
Israel: Missile test-fired in Mediterranean -- CNN
Tensions rise in the Mediterranean as U.S. and Israel test fire two missiles into the sea while America considers attack on Syria -- Daily Mail
Syria tensions rise as Israel test-fires missile defence system -- The Guardian
Israel Says It Carried Out Mediterranean Joint Missile Test -- Bloomberg Businessweek
Israel missile test amid fear of Syria escalation -- BBC
Israel Just Fired Missiles into the Mediterranean -- The Atlantic
Amid Syria tension, Israel test-fires missile over Mediterranean Sea -- NBC
Israel sparks alert in Mediterranean after unannounced missile test -- The Telegraph
Israel conducts missile system test in the Mediterranean -- Stars and Stripes
Israel claims joint U.S. missile test in Mediterranean -- USA Today
Israel says ballistic “objects” detected by Russia radars were part of US missile test programme -- Euronews
Israel claims joint US missile launch in Mediterranean for 'target practice' -- RT
Israel Fires Missile in Joint Exercise With US -- Voice of America

Israel Tests System To Shoot Down Iranian Missiles

Photo: An Arrow missile, part of an anti-missile system, is launched in a test off Israel's Mediterranean coast in central Israel in this Sunday Jan. 5, 2003, file photo. Israeli defense officials say Sunday, April 7, 2009, the country has successfully tested the Arrow anti-missile system, aimed at protecting the country from attack by Iran. (AP Photo/Eitan Hess-Ashkenazi)

From Yahoo News/AP:

JERUSALEM – Israel successfully tested an anti-missile system designed to protect the country against Iranian attack, the Defense Ministry said, perfecting technology developed in response to failures of similar systems during the 1991 Gulf War.

The intercept of a dummy missile was the 17th test of the Arrow system, a U.S.-Israeli joint venture. Israeli defense officials said the interceptor was an upgraded Arrow II, designed to counter Iran's Shahab ballistic missile.

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My Comment: I guess the Israelis do not have confidence with the American anti-missile and/or the American Administration's support of it. Hence their own system.