A series of experiments for the "David's Sling" missile defense system were successful, the Homa Directorate at the Defense Ministry and the American Missile Defense Agency (MDA) announced Wednesday.

"David's Sling," also known as "Magic Wand," is Israel's short-range ballistic missile defense system, which is being developed jointly by Israel's state-owned Rafael Advanced Defense Systems and the US's Raytheon.

The system, which is designed to intercept medium range missiles from nearby Gaza, Syria, and Lebanon, was tested in November 2013 with great success; it is part of a large-scale multi-layered missile defense project which includes the Arrow 1, 2, and 3 systems and the Iron Dome missile defense systems. 

During the tests, David Sling's MMR radar successfully identified targets shot from the air and from the ground, officials said Wednesday, and submitted reports on the targets to the firing center, to calculate a defense strategy. 

"This is a unique weapons system: the interceptor is small and agile," Homa Directorate chief Yair Ramati stated Wednesday. "The system should be introduced to the Israeli Air Force (IAF) by next year."

The Defense Ministry added that the system will be used to detect, and shoot down, unmanned aircraft (i.e. drones).