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Israel's new rocket defense system has proven a hit-to-kill capability. Officials said Israel's Iron Dome has achieved the ability to strike incoming short-range missiles and rockets. They said the Iron Dome demonstrated this during its first live fire test in mid-2009. "They met head on," Defense Minister Ehud Barak said. In a Nov. 17 address to the International Aerospace Conference and Exhibition-Israel, Barak said Iron Dome exceeded all expectations. He said the assessment within the Defense Ministry and military had been that the interceptor would explode 10 meters from the incoming missile.

Israel Aerospace Industries has signed a $350 million deal with Brazil to supply Heron unmanned aerial vehicles to patrol the South American nation's borders and provide security for the 2014 World Cup tournament and the 2016 Olympic Games. All told the state-run company, flagship of Israel's defense industry, will provide 14 drones over several years, three of them by April 2010. The deal comes amid a big surge in sales of Israeli UAVs worldwide, particularly with nations providing military forces in Afghanistan where UAVs have become a major component in the war against the Taliban and their jihadist allies. The...

It was named one of Time magazine’s best inventions of 2008, but Raytheon’s Active Protection System (APS), formerly known as “Quick Kill,” was nowhere to be found on the floor of the Washington Convention Center at the Army’s annual conference this week. I asked the Raytheon folks about its status and the best they could come up with was that the program is “maturing”; there was no APS on display nor were there videos showing field tests of the system. By contrast, over at the Israeli Military Industries booth, the Israelis were showing video of their “Iron Fist” APS in...

“The video produced by Israeli has not been received well by the Indian armed forces. The video’s popularity grew phenomenally after it was reported on and posted by StratPost. One Indian Army officer told StratPost, “Is this any way to market arms? Who will buy from you if you do this sort of thing?” An Indian Air Force (IAF) officer said, “While it can be seen as funny - perhaps a humorous parody, it’s likely to hurt the sensitivities of many people. Maybe Rafael should have thought of this before producing something like this.” The video had been viewed 133,161...

The U.S. Navy and Coast Guard have expressed interest in the 30-ft.-long Protector, which comes mounted with a machine gun and could be retrofitted for commercial use. Robots versus pirates -- it's not as stupid, or unlikely, as it sounds. Piracy has exploded in the waters near Somalia, where this past week United States warships have fired on two pirate skiffs, and are currently in pursuit of a hijacked Japanese-owned vessel. At least four other ships in the region remain under pirate control, and the problem appears to be going global: The International Maritime Bureau is tracking a 14-percent increase...

RAFAEL signs $25m deal with US Navy Armament Development Authority, BAE Systems land joint contract to supply US navy with advanced naval weapons systems. Contract second of its kind, to be completed by end of 2009 Naama Sikuler Published: 11.20.07 Israel's RAFAEL Armament Development Authority and US based BAE Systems announced Tuesday they were awarded a joint, $36 million weapons contract by the US Navy. The two will supply the US Navy with 62 Typhoon naval weapons systems by the end of 2009. The Typhoons are a range of remotely operated naval stabilized weapon systems, designed to combat ocean-based terror....

Rafael competing in French, Spanish tenders The company is offering its helicopter-born Spike-ER antitank missiles in tenders worth an aggregate $500 million. Amnon Barzilai 15 Nov 06 17:38 Rafael Armament Development Authority Ltd. and Lockheed Martin Corp. (NYSE:LMT) are competing in French and Spanish tenders for helicopter-launched antitank rockets. The tenders are worth an aggregate $500 million. Rafael is offering its Spike-ER extended range multi-purpose missile system and Lockheed Martin is offering its AGM-14 Hellfire 2 missile. The missiles will be used by the Eurocopter Tiger. Rafael is heading a consortium that includes Santa Barbara Sistemas of Spain, a subsidiary...

Rafael close to signing $239m deal with Indian Air Force “Aviation Week”: Rafael will supply its Spyder short-range air defense system. Amnon Barzilai 25 Sep 06 15:07 The Indian Air Force (IAF) is in advanced negotiations with Rafael Armament Development Authority Ltd. and MBDA of France for a $239 million contract to procure the Spyder SR short-range air defense system. The Spider air defense system combines two types of air-to-air missiles developed by Rafael which have been converted into an air defense system. One missile is the Python 5, designed for short-range aerial combat; the other is the Derby, designed...

LITENING for UK's Eurofighters Posted 20-Jul-2006 07:31 Ultra Electronics Holdings announces that its Sonar & Communication Systems business, based in Greenford, Middlesex, has been selected by the UK Ministry of Defense to supply and support "LITENING EF 3rd generation airborne surveillance & targeting pods" for the RAF's Eurofighter aircraft. Ultra will act as the prime contractor and assemble the pods in the UK, with its Sonar & Communication Systems business unit running the project. LITENING designer RAFAEL of Israel will act as the principal sub-contractor. The Eurofighter has initially been produced and delivered in its air defense version; full muti-role...

Boeing aims to beat Indian arms limits By Arie Egozi in Tel Aviv Boeing is evaluating the possibility of offering its F/A-18E/F Super Hornet to India equipped with Israeli-made avionics in an effort to bypass the US government’s opposition to the export of some US-produced systems to the country. India is expected to consider the Super Hornet design for a new air force requirement for 126 new lightweight fighters, a request for proposals (RFP) for which is expected to be released later this year. The invitation for Israeli companies to participate in the project is also being based on the...

Israeli Spike snares Tiger By Arie Egozi in Tel Aviv The Spanish army is to equip its Eurocopter Tiger attack helicopters with Rafael’s Spike-ER anti-armour missile, with the French army also evaluating the weapon for its production aircraft. Eurocopter has already partially integrated the Spike weapon system on the Tiger using initial funds from Spain, with this work culminating with four test launches of the 8km (5 mile)-range weapon. A full contract is now expected to be placed by year-end to arm Spain’s future fleet of 24 Tigers. Spain has already decided to purchase the ground-launched LR version of the...

Rafael markets “Protector” unmanned boat in US The unmanned naval patrol vehicle is the only one of its kind in the world Ran Dagoni, Washington 25 Jun 06 17:03 Rafael Armament Development Authority Ltd. launched one of its largest marketing efforts in the US last week for its Protector unmanned naval patrol vehicle to the US Navy and Department of Homeland Security. The Protector is the first boat of its kind in the world. Rafael USA VP business development Dr. Patrick Bar-Avi, a senior company engineer, told “Globes” that the Protector held its first performance demonstration at Tampa Bay, Florida,...

Israeli-made targeting pod used to kill al Zarqawi Rafael’s Litening system marks the target, guides the ordinance with lasers, and evaluates damage. Amnon Barzilai 18 Jun 06 10:37 Abu Musab al Zarqawi, al-Qaida’s top terrorist in Iraq, was killed with help of Israeli target acquisition technology fitted onto a US Air Force F-16. Rafael Armament Development Authority Ltd. supplies Litening advanced airborne infrared targeting and navigation pod to Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC), which installs them on combat jets under a cooperation agreement. The Israel Air Force also uses the Litening. According to a report by senior US Air Force officers, al...

Reuters - EXPLOSION AT ARMS RESEARCH FACILITY IN NORTHERN ISRAEL, CASUALTIES -AMBULANCE SERVICE

Recent tests of the Rotorcraft External Airbag Protection System (REAPS) developed by RAFAEL verified the crash protection capabilities of the system, mitigating crash loads below 25 g, thereby opening the way for future military and commercial applications. Following the November 2005 tests, which concluded a two year US Navy Concept and Technology Demonstration program RAFAEL plans to get FAA certification for passenger helicopter application. REAPS uses a external airbag array, attached under the fuselage of passenger rotorcrafts. The system uses proximity sensors to measure the ground approach deploy the airbag just before an imminent crash, thereby limiting passenger injuries and...

Rafael wins $70m contract with Polish Army Rafael beat leading manufacturers of remote controlled weapon stations. Hadas Manor 14 Nov 05 12:29 The Polish Army has chosen Rafael Armament Development Authority Ltd. to supply cannon stations in a $70 million contract. Rafael won the contract when the Polish Ministry of Defense and WZM decided to equip the Polish Army with Patria Armored Modular Vehicle (AMV) equipped with Rafael cannon stations. Rafael’s Remote Controlled Weapon Station (RCWS) enable troops to direct and fire cannons from inside armored cars, without being exposed. The cannon station has fire control system includes a high-performance...

Rafael Palmeiro: He’ll have more than 3,000 hits and 500 homers yet he’s never started an All-Star Game and some – stunningly – question his Hall of Fame credentials.

Senator Tom Davis, Virginia Republican, issued a statement today: 'The Governmental Reform Committee today is requesting from Major League Baseball documents related to Rafael Palmeiro's positive steriod test. The Committee is seeking the results of the drug tests, the date of the tests, and other relevant information.''Mr. Palmeiro has agreed to authorize the release of all relevant documents to the committee, which will help us to fully understand the facts of the situation. Once we review these documents, we will determine our next step.'Palmeiro, who testified to a congressional commmittee in March that he 'never used steriods,' became baseballs highest...

How far ahead of the pack is the F-22? Especially when compared to European fighters like the Rafael, Eurofighter, and Gripen? This is something that matters a lot to the Air Force, which thinks the F-22 is vital to maintaining air superiority – replacing the F-15C as soon as possible, even at the expense of reducing the buy of the F-35. How valid is the Air Force’s claim? First, one needs to look at how visible the aircraft in question are on radar. The F-15C is probably the most visible, entering service just as Lockheed began work on the F-117...

Israeli-developed armor that has been installed on American armored personnel carriers (APCs) in Iraq has saved "many lives", according to a letter of recognition the US Army has sent to Rafael, the Israel Armament Development Authority. The Bradley and 7AV APCs in the service of the US Army and the Marines, which play a central role in the armed operations in Iraq, have been fitted over the last year with armor by Rafael in partial cooperation with the American General Dynamics company, based in Burlington, Vermont. A source in the company told ISRAEL21c that the letter stated, "When the fighting...