After a two-year process, the Romanian Ministry of Defense selected Rafael Advance Defense Systems' Spyder air defense system in a huge tender, worth €1.9 billion ($2.2 billion). When the signing of the deal is completed, this sale will be the second highest ever by an Israeli defense firm, after the sale of the Arrow 3 in 2023 to Germany for $3.5 billion.
Rafael has sold many such systems, even though it is not an integral part of Israel's multi-layered defense system. "This is a very significant deal," a senior defense official tells Globes, "which is excellent for the economy."
European countries want a multi-layered defense system
According to foreign reports, about 10 countries are already operating the Spyder system. The first NATO member to acquire it was the Czech Republic, and it is also operated by the UAE, Morocco, Georgia, the Philippines, Vietnam and Singapore. The system provides a response for different ranges and against a variety of aerial threats, including drones, aircraft, helicopters and short-range ballistic missiles. Interception is carried out using two families of interceptors manufactured by Rafael - Python and Derby. The Romanians are procuring Spyder for short and ultra-short range with the advanced Python 5 missiles, which have a range of about 20 kilometers.
In the tender, the Korean company LIG NEX1, which was eliminated last year due to problems with the tender documents; European company MBDA, headquartered in Paris, which offered the Mistral 3; and German company Diehl, which proposed the IRIS system.
Today, due to the Russian threat and the war in Ukraine, which began in 2022, all European countries are trying to establish a multi-layered defense system. Spyder interests them and it is very effective, even though the Israeli air defense system is not based on it. In terms of capabilities, it is quite similar to the 2010 version of Iron Dome, because the system has not undergone many hardware updates. The significant gaps between Iron Dome and Spyder lie in the interceptors and the command and control systems.
Since the start of the war, the Ministry of Defense and IDF have found a use for the Spyder as part of increasing redundancy in air defense. For example, they realized that there were Python 4 missiles in the Air Force that were not fit because they had accumulated many flight hours - and the connectors between the missile and the wing had weakened. Therefore, they took those missiles that they had not planned to use for bombing anyway, and placed them in Spyder launchers deployed in the country. Those systems were especially effective against drones.
US defense systems are losing relevance
As a lesson learned from the modern battlefield, the Romanians want Spyder to replace the US-made Raytheon Hawk systems, which were once part of the Israeli defense system.
Brig Gen. (res.) Ran Kochav, the former commander of the Israeli Air & Missile Defense Forces, explains that there is a difference between the threat of surface-to-surface missiles (SGMs) and air-to surface threats. "Air-to-surface threats are maneuverable, and they include fighter jets, cruise missiles, and various drones. These targets are slow (relative to surface-to-surface) for active missile and rocket defense systems, and a surface-to-air missile system is required against them.
Kochav explains, "The need in the current era for US surface-to-air systems, such as the Patriot and Hawk, is decreasing - and this puts Israeli systems in a good operational, professional and commercial position."
Another advantage of the Spyder over systems like the Arrow 3, which was sold to Germany, or the David's Sling, which was sold to Finland for $317 million (€373 million), is related to the US, and the lack of dependence on it. The Arrow 3 and David's Sling are products of Israeli-US cooperation, and so US approval is required for each of their sales. These are lengthy and quite complicated processes, because the final approval must be given by the US President himself.
In some instances, the US opposes deals, since there are equivalent systems on the market that are 100% American. In the case of the sale of the Arrow 3 to Germany, it was difficult for the US to approve this due to their perception of the THAAD system as a rival to the Israeli system for defense against ballistic missiles outside the atmosphere. However, the system manufactured by Lockheed Martin that the US itself operates in Israel is more similar to the Arrow 2, which is designed for ballistic missiles inside the atmosphere, than the Arrow 3.
The bottom line is that Rafael does have a connection to the US market due to its operations there, but the Spyder is a purely Israeli system, from its metal base, through knowhow, to software and hardware.
An Israeli company that will benefit to some extent from the deal is Israel Aerospace Industries, whose subsidiary Elta supplies the radar for Spyder, the EL/M 2106, which is capable of tracking up to 500 targets simultaneously, operating 360 degrees in all weather conditions, and detecting fighter jets at a range of 70-110 kilometers, helicopters at a range of about 40 kilometers, and drones at a range of about 40-60 kilometers.
Next: A defense package deal with Greece
The next country to which the Spyder system might be sold is Greece, which is considering procuring a multi-layered defense system for about $2 billion. Athens is interested in buying all layers from one country, so the Barak MX is could be procured together with the Spider. Barak MX supports various radars and launchers for defense against fighter jets, helicopters, drones, cruise missiles, surface-to-air missiles and surface-to-surface missiles.
The Barak MX is based on an operationally proven control center, which allows the integration of additional interceptor missiles: the Barak MRAD interceptor, a short-range, vertically launched, high-speed interceptor, adapted to deal with threats at a range of up to 35 kilometers and includes a radar homing head with only one pulse engine; the Barak LRAD interceptor, a medium-range, vertically launched, high-speed interceptor, adapted to deal with threats at a range of up to 70 kilometers and includes a radar homing head with a dual-pulse engine; the Barak ER interceptor is also vertically launched and includes a booster engine, a dual-pulse rocket engine, and an advanced radar homing head. The Barak ER interception range is increased by adding a rocket booster and adjusting the communications and radar capabilities to a range of 150 kilometers. All engines for the various interceptors are manufactured by government company Tomer, a knowhow leader in the field.
Unlike the Spyder, whose use for the benefit of Israeli air defense is for reinforcing blind spots, Barak is truly an integral part of the country as well. The Barak Magen system with the LRAD interceptor is deployed on all Saar 6 ships, and provides an important response from the sea during the Iran operation. The Israeli Air Force has also operated Barak systems to intercept threats from Iran.
"The Israeli systems have demonstrated exceptional operational performance on every scale, throughout the war and during the Iran in particular," concludes Kochav. "This stems from the knowhow and professionalism gained by the Israeli defense industries and especially from the experience in the recent operational operation of Barak and Arrow from IAI."
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on July 2, 2025.
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