Amidst rapidly growing demand for advanced weapons systems, not only their price but also, and more importantly, availability and lead times are becoming increasingly problematic. A good example is the Patriot system and its associated interceptor missiles, for which demand has increased significantly with the expansion of air defense capabilities in NATO countries and the experience of the war in Ukraine. Limited production capacity means that even the most technologically advanced system loses some of its operational value if it cannot be delivered in sufficient numbers and on time. For that reason, Rafael together with local partners looking to enhance the co-production and localization of its products in any country ’where’s Rafael’s systems are inducted.
Read also: Patriot War – Licenses, Denials and Poland’s Plan for Its Own Production Line
In this context, it’s worth examining Rafael’s offerings, which encompass a broad spectrum of combat-proven solutions – from multi-layered air defense systems and long-range missiles, through precision-guided weapons, to the currently developed counter-drone systems. These are precisely the areas of particular interest for countries strengthening their defense capabilities, and the competitiveness of suppliers is increasingly determined not only by the technical parameters of the weapons offered, but also by the ability to rapidly produce and deliver them on a large scale.
In the face of accelerating global armament and an increasingly complex threat environment, Rafael focused on showcasing these combat-proven systems, considered among the most advanced solutions for long-range precision strikes, airborne intelligence, communications, cybersecurity, satellites, air defense, and counter-unmanned aerial vehicle systems. These are currently the most important and sought-after air defense systems for NATO countries in the US and Europe, which are building multi-layered air defense systems.
Iron Dome, David’s Sling, and Iron Beam by Rafael
In this context, the Israeli Iron Dome air defense system is still the most effective combat-tested and proven air defense system in the world, having intercepted thousands of threats, including missiles, at ranges of 4 to 70 km. Short-range missiles, cruise and mortar missiles, and unmanned aerial vehicles. In reality, it’s not a single system, but a pyramid of layers of different weapons, with each tier combating different threats. In December 2025, it was reinforced by the Iron Beam high-power laser system. This is the world’s first operational deployment of a laser-based air target interception system in the armed forces. Delivered to the Israel Defense Forces, the Iron Beam, integrated with the Iron Dome battle management architecture, allows commanders to engage incoming threats with interceptor missiles or lasers, depending on the threat type. The Iron Beam 450 laser system was first presented at the 2025 trade fair. This year, Rafael also unveiled the Iron Beam-M and Lite Beam systems, offering scalable laser solutions in stationary and mobile configurations deployed on the front lines.
The Iron Dome is underpinned by Arrow systems, including the Arrow 3 with a range of up to 2,400 km, which intercept Iranian ballistic missiles such as the Shahab, Sejjil, and Khorramshahr, even outside the atmosphere. These missiles were purchased by Germany from Israel in recent years. This system is part of the European Air Defense Initiative (ESSI). This is important because Poland is building its own, independent defense layers – Wisła, Narew, and Pilica – but we don’t have missiles with such a range and likely won’t for a long time. A single launch of such a missile into space costs approximately $2.5 million.
Najsłynniejszy system obrony powietrznej świata? – izraelski Iron Dome. fot. Rafael
Will we be able to benefit from the air defense of German missiles? The Arrow missile’s range allows it to engage targets over Poland, but a decision on this would require appropriate launcher deployment and, above all, a political and military decision by NATO command. It’s worth noting that Poland already partially utilizes the German Arrow 3 system, primarily for early warning. Launched in December 2025 in Holzdorf, Germany, just 100 km from the Polish border, Arrow 3 is equipped with a powerful Super Green Pine radar with a field of view covering all of Poland. The German radar tracks ballistic targets over Central Europe, giving Polish services additional time to react and issue warnings.
Iron Dome is complemented by the David’s Sling system, which intercepts medium-range missiles (70 to 300 km), which Finland purchased in 2023.
For more on Israeli air defense architecture, read the article: Iron Dome, David’s Sling and Iron Beam – Rafael presents its complete air defense architecture in Berlin and Paris
RAFAEL HELWS – a family of Laser Systems
RAFAEL HELWS – A family of systems with layered configurations, varying power levels, ranges, and missions – detect, classify, and intercept a wide range of aerial threats.
Today’s battlefield is highly saturated with low-altitude aerial threats, requiring massive production of high-cost interceptors and constant battlefield resupply. Laser systems (electricity) enable low-cost, unlimited interceptions – no resupply needed – with rapid on-demand fire, precise tracking and targeting. RAFAEL’s tactical and strategic systems protect maneuvering forces and fixed assets. UAVs and drones can paralyze ground maneuver and disrupt operations. IRON BEAM-M & LITE BEAM move with the forces, delivering ongoing aerial defense. RAFAEL’s laser defense systems are in serial production.
IRON BEAM (100KW-class, up to 10Km range)
High Energy Laser Weapon System – IRON BEAM 450. fot. Rafael
Unveiled with a new IRON BEAM 450 director at the Paris Air Show – offering extended range, improved accuracy, and faster neutralization.
First Systems has already been delivered to the IDF. In Israel, IRON BEAM will become an integral part of the multi-layered air defense array.
IRON BEAM M (Mobile, 50KW-class, up to 5Km range)
Mobile HELWS designed to protect strategic assets and maneuvering ground forces. Ideal for brigade/division-level and large-scale maneuvers due to its extended range.
Mounted on 8×8 trucks or trailers; intercepts rockets, mortars, drones, UAVs and missiles. Adapted to Naval Configuration.
An all-in-one system for detection, classification, and neutralization – independent of external C4I systems.
IRON BEAM-M. fot. Rafael
LITE BEAM (Tactical, 10KW-class, up to 3 Km range)
Lightweight laser system designed for protection against low-altitude threats like drones and small UAVs. Installed on 4×4 & armored vehicles, offering mobile protection for maneuvering forces. An all-in-one system for detection, classification, and neutralization – independent of external C4I systems.
Spyder – a mobile short- and medium-range air defense system
The next element of Israel’s air defense system is the Spyder, a mobile short- and medium-range air defense system utilizing Python 5 missiles – short-range missiles (up to approximately 20 km) with an infrared-guided warhead – and the I-Derby – medium-range missiles with active radar guidance that can destroy air targets from a distance of 35 km. The latest version of these missiles, the I-Derby ER, has also been added, with a range of up to approximately 80 km.
System krótkiego zasięgu Spyder. fot. Rafael
The Czech Republic purchased these systems in 2021 – four batteries for approximately CZK 13.7 billion (over USD 600 million). Two years later, in an additional contract, the Czech Republic purchased I-Derby ER missiles.
However, the largest contract so far for 6 Spyder systems worth approximately €2 billion was signed by Romania in 2023.
Greece and other Central and Southern European countries are also interested in purchasing them. These systems are also in service with the militaries of Asian, African, and Latin American countries.
Rocks Long-Range Air-to-Surface Missile
Rafael also demonstrated the Rocks long-range air-to-ground missile. This electro-optical guided missile features AI image recognition and requires no guidance after launch. It is resistant to jamming and can operate in even the harshest environments, in areas heavily protected by advanced multi-domain air defense systems. Such as strategic facilities such as bases, airfields, command centers, missile launchers, and air defense radar sites. The missile is intended as a first strike, designed to weaken enemy defenses and allow subsequent missiles to enter enemy space. Therefore, Rocks is called a tool for opening A2/AD zones, specifically those where a large number of systems are concentrated to prevent airborne systems from entering a given area (A2) and operating within it (AD).
Rocks enables the destruction of a target from long range without exposing the aircraft to enemy fire. This weapon combines the features of a classic cruise missile designed to strike the most difficult targets, primarily reinforced structures hidden deep underground, such as bunkers, command posts, ammunition depots, and critical infrastructure.
Pocisk Rocks przeznaczony do rażenia celów na dużych odległościach. fot. Rafael
Fifth-generation Ice Breaker Long Range cruise missile
The fifth-generation Ice Breaker cruise missile also generated significant interest. Designed for long-range precision strikes, The missile combines a low radar signature, a navigation system with terrain tracking, and artificial intelligence (AI) mapping to ensure precise deep strikes in all weather conditions. The missile is compatible with air, sea, and land launch platforms.
Anti-drone systems – Sky Dart, Hunter Eagle and Ghost Hunter
The second important area of air defense is counter-drone systems. Rafael also has a strong track record here. These include combat-proven counter-drone systems such as the Sky Dart, Hunter Eagle, and Ghost Hunter, which provide reliable direct combat options for aircraft. They detect, track, and destroy enemy unmanned aerial vehicles, complementing electronic warfare solutions.
The Sky Dart is the smallest and most economical of Rafael’s new anti-drone effectors. Designed as a relatively inexpensive, kinetic interceptor for combating drones, it can be used in both surface-to-air and air-to-air configurations. Based on existing, low-cost technologies, the Sky Dart is designed to engage numerous and relatively inexpensive targets without the need for significantly more expensive conventional anti-aircraft missiles. The Sky Dart can neutralize targets without the use of a traditional explosive warhead, allowing for safe use in urban areas.
The Hunter Eagle is a smaller interceptor drone, designed primarily for rapid self-defense of troops, vehicles, and protected facilities over very short distances. Its flight speed is approximately 70 m/s, or 252 km/h, and during the final intercept phase, it can accelerate to approximately 110 m/s, or 396 km/h.
The Ghost Hunter, on the other hand, is a significantly larger and more powerful interceptor drone, equipped with a turbojet engine and its own radio frequency (RF) radar located in the nose of the fuselage. Its performance is twice that of the Hunter Eagle, meaning a cruising speed of around 500 km/h and, during interception, speeds of over 700 km/h.
Rafael and SpearUAV, a leading developer of AI-powered capsule weapon systems, also announced on June 16, 2026, a strategic collaboration to develop and commercialize the Iron Wasp interceptor drone, designed to combat unmanned aerial vehicles.
– Rafael’s strength has always been its ability to combine the right technologies into a protection architecture that is greater than the sum of its parts. We’ve built this architecture layer by layer, from active vehicle protection to airborne guided weapon systems, from kinetic weapon stations to advanced detection and battle management systems. Iron Wasp represents precisely the kind of innovation that enhances this architecture, adding the organic air-to-air interception capability our customers increasingly need – said Tzvi Marmor, Executive Vice President, Land and Sea Systems Division, Rafael.
SpearUAV Viper. fot. Rafael
This year, Rafael unveiled for the first time the modernized Litening 5 (Targeting Pod), the most widely used airborne targeting and reconnaissance pod in the world. It is currently used by the air forces of 28 countries on over 25 aircraft types. The German Bundestag approved the purchase of 90 Litening 5 pods for the Luftwaffe’s Eurofighter Typhoon fleet. This redesigned pod has evolved from a classic air-to-ground surveillance and targeting pod into a multi-role tool designed to detect and neutralize small, fast-moving airborne targets. The latest generation of the pod features an optional synthetic aperture radar, enabling – in addition to its previous role – the ability to target airborne targets in all weather conditions.
– The Litening system has always been designed as a critical link between the sensor and the gunner. Operational operations around the world today confirm that the most advanced sensors and algorithms, embedded in the most widely used targeting pod, are as crucial to the outcome of an engagement as the ammunition itself. Rafael has implemented precisely this capability – says Yoav Tourgeman, CEO of Rafael Advanced Defense Systems.
Litening 5 w misji zwalczania bezzałogowych statków powietrznych obejmuje automatyczne wykrywanie, śledzenie, identyfikację i naprowadzanie na cel w celu przechwycenia. fot. USAF
Recently completed tests confirmed that Litening 5, with its innovative functions of automatic detection, tracking, identification and guidance of combat systems to the target for interception, met all threats of modern warfare operations, i.e. combating air targets, especially unmanned ones, supporting hundreds of successful interceptions of air drones.
Advanced algorithms enable the acquisition of maneuvering drones from long distances and the transmission of their precise coordinates. Combating drones has been made possible by the addition of new thermal sensors operating in the medium and short wave range, which improve the effectiveness of observation in difficult conditions with laser-illuminated targets, and by the installation of an improved high-resolution HD camera, which enables the identification of combat vehicles and their differentiation from artificial objects from a safe distance. Data from individual sensors can be displayed separately or overlaid in real time.
Once a target is acquired, the laser designator opens the door to a wide range of munitions, including radar-guided missiles, thermally-guided missiles, and laser-guided rockets, giving operators the flexibility to select their weapons commensurate with the threat presented. This impressive multi-sensor suite, including mid-wave infrared, short-wave infrared, and large-aperture color imaging, along with automatic target tracking algorithms, ensures confident detection and identification of low-signature airborne targets. The company emphasizes that by detecting, tracking, and designating a target, the Litening 5 opens a cost-effective path to precision engagement of small airborne threats at scale, while retaining a full range of missile options for higher-end threats.
Now, as the world arms itself on a scale unseen in decades, states are increasingly seeking systems proven in real combat – those that have been tested on the frontlines, not just look good in marketing materials. Alongside increasingly advanced missile systems, the importance of the entire unmanned aerial vehicle ecosystem is rapidly growing. In just a few years, drones have become a key element of the modern battlefield, transforming operations faster than many traditional military structures can adapt.
In this context, Rafael, by presenting both its missile systems and counter-drone solutions in Europe, is counting on the growing interest of NATO countries in technologies that address threats against which the North Atlantic Alliance continues to develop its own capabilities and operational doctrines. For the Israeli manufacturer, this also represents an opportunity to expand industrial and technological cooperation along with the expansion of its supply chain with European partners in one of the fastest-growing areas of modern armaments.
However, it’s not just the system’s effectiveness that’s increasingly important, but also its availability. Problems with delivery times for the most advanced weapons – a prime example of which are the Patriot systems and their missiles – demonstrate that, in a climate of rapidly growing demand, production capacity, the ability to rapidly scale up production, and the ability to deliver in a relatively short timeframe are also becoming important considerations in tenders. In practice, the winner may increasingly be those who offer not only the best systems but also those who can deliver them quickly and in quantities sufficient to meet the needs of modern warfare.
