• Digital Battlespace

  Rafael demonstrates BNET tactical communications for Romanian special forces

  13th July 2023

  Rafael showcased the capabilities of its BNET communications system to Romanian special forces in an effort to demonstrate real-time battle management and information gathering in complex operational environments.

• Land Warfare

  Poland orders more Spike LR anti-tank missiles

  7th August 2023

  Poland has ordered more Spike LR anti-tank guided missiles under a deal worth PLN400 million ($99.2 million) with deliveries to begin almost immediately through local manufacturer of the system, Mesko.

• Land Warfare

  £20 million contract advances Challenger 3 missile protection system

  14th July 2023

  A £20 million contract has been awarded to Rafael for Trophy active protection systems to be evaluated on UK Challenger 3 MBTs. Demonstrations and testing are set for 2024.

• Land Warfare

  Israel-Hamas War: Israel’s fleet of armoured vehicles set to get their metal tested

  20th October 2023

  Israel appears to be set for a ground war in northern Gaza in what the Israeli government argues is an effort to destroy the capability of Hamas to attack Israel. It is an environment the IDF has fought in before and the army’s vehicles will likely have a key role.

• Land Warfare

  Rafael ready to counter Iran’s hypersonic threats, says company at Paris Air Show

  20th June 2023

  Planning of flight tests and interception trials for the Sky Sonic counter-hypersonic missile system are under way, while Rafael hopes to start full-scale development in the coming months.

• Land Warfare

  Insight: Why the CV90 infantry fighting vehicle is making a clean sweep of Nordic markets

  19th September 2023

  Shephard Defence Insight explores the evolution of BAE Systems Hägglunds’ CV90 IFV from its inception in the late 1980s to the latest CV90 MkIV, detailing the order history and upgrade packages of its ten European customers.

• Land Warfare

  No plans to increase British Army tank fleet as Challenger 3 programme hits milestones

  10th August 2023

  The Challenger 3 MBT has hit key milestones at RBSL's Telford facility, with the programme progressing to prototype building.

• Land Warfare

  Insight: The UK's Challenger 3 tank programme gets ready for service in 2025

  4th September 2023

  Initially planned for service entry between 2027 and 2030, the British Army's first Challenger 3 tanks remain on track for accelerated delivery in 2025. Shephard Defence Insight provides full technical details and a programme update for this vital UK armoured capability.

• Land Warfare

  UK and Poland cooperating on development of future common missile

  14th July 2023

  The UK and Poland will work together to develop a future common missile based on MBDA's Common Anti-Air Modular Missile (CAMM) as part of wider cooperation between London and Warsaw.

• Air Warfare

  Meeting the needs of tactical forces with innovative UAS for mission success (Sponsored)

  31st May 2023

  With the growing global trend towards the use of UAS, Aeronautics is uniquely positioned as one of the leading companies in the world in that field

• Naval Warfare

  IMDEX 2023: Rafael offers ships laser air defence capability with Naval Iron Beam development

  2nd May 2023

  Israel’s Rafael Advanced Defense Systems is working to navalise the Iron Beam high-energy laser weapon giving ships another option to defeat incoming threats.

• Land Warfare

  Greece adds Spike antitank missiles to arsenal

  13th April 2023

  Greece is the latest NATO member to acquire Spike antitank missiles from Israeli manufacturer Rafael, under a government-to-government agreement.

• Training

  Indra begins delivery of fighting vehicle sim to Spanish Army

  17th May 2023

  The delivery of the combat vehicle training systems includes a first section simulator made up of four vehicle simulators to several Spanish Army bases.

• Naval Warfare

  Israel marks milestone for Sa'ar 6 corvette fleet

  25th April 2023

  The Israeli Navy has declared its fleet of newly built Sa'ar 6 corvettes operational, with three having entered service.

• Land Warfare

  David's Sling to guard Finnish skies

  6th April 2023

  Finland's Ministry of Defence has authorised the procurement of David's Sling, a long-range air defence system from Israel's Rafael, worth around €316 million.

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• APCs/IFVs - 8x8

  Boxer (Vilkas) [Lithuania - Second Batch]

  Programme Background  Lithuania's Boxers are manufactured by the ARTEC production lines in Germany and the Netherlands. KMW is responsible for producing 56 of the vehicles ...

• APCs/IFVs - 8x8

  Boxer (Vilkas) [Lithuania - Additional Units]

  Programme Background  Lithuania's Boxers are manufactured by the ARTEC production lines in Germany and the Netherlands. KMW is responsible for producing 56 of the vehicles ...

• APCs/IFVs - 8x8

  Boxer (Vilkas) [Lithuania - First Batch]

  Programme Background Lithuania's Boxers are manufactured by the ARTEC production lines in Germany and the Netherlands. KMW is responsible for producing 56 of the vehicles ...

• Fighter - electronic warfare

  Jamming and Escort Electronic Attack Aircraft (luWES) [Germany]

  Programme Background According to earlier reports, Berlin had earlier decided to procure 15 EA-18G Growlers over the Eurofighter Typhoon ECR concept, which is expected to be ...

• APCs/IFVs - 8x8

  VCR (Batch 2) [Spain]

  Programme Background Purpose The VCR programme is to replace several legacy wheeled and tracked vehicles currently in service with the Spanish Army including the BMR-600 6x6, ...

• APCs/IFVs - 8x8

  VCR (Third Batch) [Spain]

  Programme Background Purpose The VCR programme is to replace several legacy wheeled and tracked vehicles currently in service with the Spanish Army including the BMR-600 ...

• APCs/IFVs - 8x8

  VCR (Batch 1) [Spain]

  Programme Background Purpose The VCR programme is to replace several legacy wheeled and tracked vehicles currently in service with the Spanish Army including the BMR-600 6x6, ...

• Loitering munitions

  Maritime Launched Effects (MLE) [US]

  Background Origin & Requirment The loitering munition effort dates back to at least 2018 and used to be called the Maritime Precision Engagement (MPE). The US Special ...

• APCs/IFVs - 8x8

  Boxer [Slovenia]

  Programme Background Requirement As part of its broader military modernisation plans outlined in its Medium-Term Defense Plan 2018-2023, the Slovenian MoD identified a requirement for ...

• Loitering munitions

  Loitering Munitions [Germany]

  Programme Background Testing Models Between April 2023 and April 2025, the German Army acquired various loitering munitions to further assess their suitability for the German ...

• APCs/IFVs - tracked

  Project Land 400 Phase 3 [Australia]

  Programme Background Requirement: 2015 RfI The Land 400 Phase 3 programme will procure a new tracked IFV to replace the Australian Army's legacy fleet of ...

• APCs/IFVs - tracked

  Hunter [Singapore - Contracted]

  Programme Background Development of the Hunter began in 2006 and was assisted by Singapore's Defence Science and Technology Agency (DSTA). At least five variants of the platform ...

• Military helicopters - scout/light attack

  Project Land 2097 Phase 4 [Australia]

  Programme Background According to the RfI, under Project Land 2097 Phase 4, the selected helicopter must comprise a commercial or military off-the-shelf solution that is ...

• APCs/IFVs - tracked

  Hunter IFV [Singapore - Forecast]

  Programme Background Development of the Hunter began in 2006 and was assisted by Singapore's Defence Science and Technology Agency (DSTA). At least five variants of the platform ...

• Loitering munitions

  Testing Loitering Munitions [Germany]

  Programme Background Three Tested Models In April 2023, Germany reportedly ordered three different loitering munition systems to assess further their suitability for use by the German ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - small

  Spark

  The Spark is a fixed-wing UAV manufactured by Rafael Advanced Defence Systems and Aeronautics. Little is known about the drone, other than that, in September ...

• Air-to-air missiles, Surface-to-air missiles

  I-Derby

  The I-Derby is an advanced beyond-visual-range (BVR) air-to-air missile developed by Rafael Advanced Defense Systems. It builds upon the capabilities of the original Derby missile ...

• EO/IR systems

  LITENING

  The LITENING Advanced Targeting Pod is an electro-optical/infrared (EO/IR) system designed to detect, acquire, identify, and track targets over extended ranges.  It supports diverse mission ...

• Land: Defensive Systems - Gunshot Detection / Hostile Fire Indicator

  SpotLite P

  The SpotLite-P is a portable EO muzzle flash detection and positioning system developed by Rafael. It is based on previous Rafael flash detection and hostile ...

• Surface-to-air missiles

  SkySonic

  The SkySonic is an advanced hypersonic missile interceptor developed by Israel's Rafael Advanced Defense Systems. Unveiled in June 2023, it is designed to counter the ...

• Anti-ship missiles

  Sea Breaker

  Sea Breaker is a precision-guided, long-range, autonomous missile system manufactured by Rafael. Debuted at DSEI 2021, the platform delivers pinpoint strikes from stand-off ranges up to 300km ...

• Surface-to-air missiles

  Tamir

  Tamir is a short-range, surface-to-air missile developed for Israel's Iron Dome air defence system. Each missile firing unit, carried on 8x8 heavy-duty trucks, consists of ...

• Individual assault/anti-tank weapons

  Spike SR

  Part of Rafael's Spike missile family, the fire-and-forget, man-portable Spike Short Range (SR) EO-guided missile system has operational capabilities in all weather conditions. Although the ...

• Counter-UAS systems

  Drone Dome

  Drone Dome is a counter-UAS system manufactured by Rafael. It is designed to provide detection, identification, classification, neutralisation, and interception against aerial threats such as ...

• Naval guns

  Typhoon 25mm Naval Gun System

  Typhoon is a medium-calibre naval gun system developed and produced by Israeli Rafael. It was initially launched in 1997 (the Mk-23 version). Today, there are ...

• Land: Radio and SATCOM

  BNET-V

  BNET-V is a MANET Software-Defined Radio for vehicles. Designed by Rafael, the multiband radio has a modular architecture and offers compatibility with several legacy systems.

• Military - USVs

  Protector

  The Protector, having been in use since 2004, was the first USV to enter operational service. It is manufactured by Rafael and designed for coastal ...

• Air-to-air missiles

  Python-3

  The Python-3 is an Israeli beyond-visual-range anti-air missile developed by Rafael and emerged from Israel's earlier development of the Shafrir-1 and Shafrir-2 missiles. 

• Multipurpose missiles

  Spike ER

  The Spike ER is a fourth-generation, multipurpose missile fitted with EO charge-coupled device/imaging IR sensors for operation during the day, night and in adverse weather. ...

• Naval: shipboard communication systems

  SeaCom

  Rafael SeaCom is a shipboard communication system that integrates internal and external communication under a single suite. Featuring a modular design, the IP-based system can ...