Rafael’s SPYDER AIO has completed a test firing. (Photo: Rafael)
Rafael and the Israeli MoD Directorate of Defense Research and Development have successfully completed testing of the SPYDER AIO air defence system which operates both Python and Derby surface-to-air missiles.
The test involved included the interception of a UAV and scored a direct and effective hit, according to a company statement.
Brig. Gen. (Res.) Pini Yungman, executive vice-president and head of Rafael Air Defense Division, said it ‘represented another technological breakthrough’.
‘The success of the test is a significant milestone in developing the system against different threats and demonstrates the system’s effectiveness in intercepting challenging ground-launched threats,’ Yungman remarked.
SPYDER AIO features an integrated radar, electro-optical launcher, advanced control and command system, and Python and Derby interceptors, all mounted on a single platform. This configuration serves as an optimal air defence solution for point defence or area defence, either as part of a SPYDER battery or deployed independently with minimal operator involvement.
The system was unveiled at the Singapore Airshow in February 2022. The radar sensor on the SPYDER-AIO ER model exhibited had four square antennas placed together around a Toplite EO/IR sensor on a mast.
SPYDER Medium-Range (MR) and SPYDER Short-Range (SR) systems have already been in action in Asia, the former with the Philippine Air Force and Vietnam, while the latter have seen use in India and Singapore.
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Developed by Israel's Uvision and with systems being sold in the thousands to multiple European NATO countries and the US, the Hero family of loitering systems is also in production in the US and Italy, the latter through Rheinmetall.
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