April 24, 2023: Finland is buying the Israeli David’s Sling (formerly Magic Wand) air defense system to improve its ability to defeat Russian aircraft and missiles (cruise or ballistic). The initial $345 million purchase is one battery plus support equipment. There is an option to buy a second battery for about $250 million.

Each battery has a search radar with a max range of 474 kilometers, a fire control vehicle and six missile launchers, each with six Stunner missiles. Launchers come in two sizes, six missiles or twelve missiles. A tractor trailer version of the launcher is less mobile but carries twelve missiles. Each battery has some reloads, giving each battery up to 48 missiles. Each Stunner missile weighs 400 kg (880 pounds) and is stored in and launched from a sealed container. Stunner is a two-stage missile with a max range of 300 kilometers. The warhead does not contain explosives but rather has sensors that enable the warhead to collide with the target at high speed and destroy it. Because David’s Sling batteries are mobile, they can regularly change location in peacetime to make it more difficult for an attacker to carry out a successful SEAD (Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses) effort.

David’s Sling entered service in 2017. This was a year later than expected because earlier testing had revealed some potential problems that required fixing. Israel is very exacting about such technical problems because these weapons are the first line of defense against threats that are very real and openly calling for the destruction of Israel. That attitude towards quality control also makes Israeli weapons easier to find export customers for.

David’s Sling is the Israeli replacement for existing American Patriot and Hawk systems. During 2015 Israel conducted several successful tests of David’s Sling, including some that included intercepting and destroying a short range ballistic missile and other targets representing manned aircraft. By late 2015 it was believed David’s Sling would be ready for deployment in 2016. But as happened several times before there were new technical problems that had to be fixed. David’s Sling was originally expected to enter service in 2014.

In development since 2006 David’s Sling was designed to be an improvement over American made Patriot systems Israel was using. The Stunner missile has a longer range (300 kilometers) and better capabilities than the Patriot missiles currently used. The American manufacturer of Patriot cooperated with an Israeli firm to develop and produce David’s Sling and plans to use some David’s Sling features for Patriot upgrades.

David’s Sling is meant to complement the Israeli Iron Dome anti-rocket system, which can take down rockets with a range of up to 70 kilometers. Iron Dome has a unique feature in which the radar system computes where the incoming rocket will land. If the rocket will not hit an inhabited area, it will be ignored. Otherwise, an interceptor missile will be fired. Stunner will be used against larger rockets that will be aimed (by Syria, Hamas or Hezbollah) at large urban areas, and these will almost always get a Stunner fired at them. This is part of the two layer (Iron Dome and David’s Sling) system for defending Israelis from rocket and missile attacks. David’s Sling is expected to eventually replace the 17 Hawk anti-aircraft batteries as well and, eventually, the six Patriot batteries. Because of the longer range of the Stunner, two David’s Sling batteries can cover all of Israel.

A David’s Sling battalion would have three batteries each with six truck mounted launchers (each with six missiles), a radar vehicle and control vehicle.

Finland has a 1,300 kilometer border with Russia and two David’s Sling batteries would cover about half of that. Most of the Russian border is sparsely inhabited on both sides with no worthwhile targets for Russian missiles. The David’s Sling purchase was made right after Finland officially became a NATO member. This membership includes a mutual defense clause, which obliges all NATO members to come to the aid of any member that is attacked.