VIGIL CONSILIUMSearch
Context. Not headlines.

Air defence · Multi-tier ballistic and air defence system

Israeli layered missile defence

The three-tier shield — Iron Dome against rockets and drones, David's Sling against medium-range threats, Arrow against ballistic missiles in and beyond the atmosphere — that engaged the Iranian retaliation of both wars, and the most tested multi-layer missile defence in the world.

Arrow / David's Sling / Iron DomeIsrael, United StatesArrow 2 from 2000; Iron Dome from 2011; David's Sling from 2017; Arrow 3 from 2017

Status as of
2026-09
Last reviewed
2026-09-09

AssessmentHigh confidence

Recognition context, not a stat sheet. The catalogue covers major publicly documented systems relevant to the conflicts Vigil covers — not an exhaustive order of battle. No quantities, availability or current allocations are recorded.

The recordWhat this system is, where it comes from, who operates it and which of Vigil’s modules it is relevant to — with the evidence each of those rests on.

FieldedEvidence: Confirmed
Silhouette · not to scale

Record

FamilyArrow / David's Sling / Iron Dome
VariantsIron Dome; David's Sling; Arrow 2; Arrow 3; Arrow 4 (entering service)
OriginIsrael, United States
ManufacturerIsrael Aerospace Industries, Rafael, with American co-funding
EraArrow 2 from 2000; Iron Dome from 2011; David's Sling from 2017; Arrow 3 from 2017
Appears inIran–Gulf 2026 war · Twelve-day war 2025

Conflict relevance

This is the catalogue's single record for this system. It is relevant to the module below; each module's Force Atlas shows how it is used there.

Operators

Israel and the Gulf: Operated by the air force's air-defence array; the three tiers recorded as one capability.

Battlefield role

Defence of a small state against everything from rockets to medium-range ballistic missiles, with interceptors allocated by threat and trajectory.

Strengths

Years of real engagements, a command system that matches interceptor to threat, American co-funding that sustains production, and a fourth Arrow tier entering service.

Limitations

Finite interceptor stocks against an opponent whose method is volume — the constraint the 2025 and 2026 wars made visible — and performance known through the parties' own claims, which this module does not adopt. Sites, batteries and stocks are not recorded.

Documented conflict use

The Iranian missile and drone attacks of April and October 2024, June 2025 and 2026, alongside American and allied defences; interception rates are published as claims.

Documented formations

Assessed as of2026-09Last reviewed2026-09-09