Israel successfully tests anti-missile system

Tel Aviv, Dec 21: Israel's defence ministry on Monday announced that a new anti-missile system, developed jointly with the US, passed the final round of tests, ready for deployment as soon as next year.

David's Sling air defence system is designed to intercept medium-range rockets, missiles and drones, Xinhua news agency reported.

It is aimed to fill an operational gap between Iron Dome, which shoots down short-range rockets, and Arrow, which shoots down long-range ballistic missiles. Both are already in use.

A series of trials by the Israeli Air Force and the Pentagon's Missile Defence Agency were completed Monday morning in southern Israel, the ministry said in a statement.

The interceptor is expected to be deployed in the first quarter of 2016, the statement said.

The system was developed by Israel's Rafael Advanced Defence Systems and Raytheon, a major US-based weapons company.

The announcement came amidst heightened tensions along Israel's northern border.

On Sunday night, a barrage of three rockets was fired into Israel from Lebanon, several hours after a top Lebanese militant was killed in Syria.

IANS