Israel's David's Sling air defense system made its operational debut Monday, when an interceptor missile was launched as a precaution against ballistic missiles fired within neighboring Syria, the military said.
Projectiles fired as part of internal fighting between the Syrian army and rebel forces in southwest Syria triggered early warning sirens in northern Israel, but were unlikely to have been aimed at Israeli targets, the IDF statement stressed.
An initial investigation into the incident revealed that the missiles had been fired at Israel's direction and the defense system identified their trajectory as being on track to strike within Israeli territory.
The David's Sling operators had an extremely short time to decide whether or not to launch an interceptor, and decided to intercept. Ultimately, the projectiles are believed to have hit about 1 kilometer inside Syria.
Some reports suggested that the trajectory shifted mid-way.
David's Sling, which counters medium- to long-range projectiles, is part of Israel's multi-tiered air defense system. It is designed to complement the Iron Dome defense system, which regularly intercepts and destroys short-range rockets and artillery shells, the Arrow 2 short- and medium-range ballistic missile interceptor, and the Arrow 3 long-range missile interceptor.
Footage aired by local media showed what appeared to be a missile interceptor fired in the direction of the Syrian border as air raid sirens wailed in the background.
Israel is currently on high alert as Syrian President Bashar Assad's Russian-backed army advances against rebels near the border the two countries share on the Golan Heights.
Israeli leaders have expressed concern Assad may try to defy a 1974 demilitarization deal on the Golan or allow his Iranian and Lebanese Hezbollah allies to deploy there.
