Rafael

Volkswagen, Lower Saxony and Rafael are exploring a plan to manufacture Iron Dome support equipment at the Osnabrück plant while sidestepping opposition from Qatar. The deal could give Rafael a major European production base and help keep the factory operating.

After previously refusing to sell Israel a comparable system, the U.S. Department of Defense has signed a massive contract to purchase an Israeli-developed system that helps fighter jets find targets and guide munitions.

Rafael says its SPYDER system, which launches air-to-air missiles, completed a successful drone interception test. The system has been sold to several countries, and the company says it has been updated based on lessons from the war in Israel.

Yuval Steinitz, head of Rafael, says that since the 'Swords of Iron' war began in October 2023, Hamas and Hezbollah have fired about 40,000 rockets at Israel; he says Iron Dome intercepted most of them with near-100% success, and that in two rounds of fighting since 2024 only a few dozen Iranian missiles were not intercepted—denying any shortage of interceptors.

Cleared for publication Sunday morning: Master Sgt. (res.) Lidor Porat of Ashdod was killed overnight when an IDF engineering vehicle hit an explosive device planted by Hezbollah along the forward line in southern Lebanon. Nine troops were wounded. In a separate incident, Master Sgt. (res.) Barak Kalfon, 48, was also killed.