Romania emerges as the next customer for the Rafael Spyder air defence system.
The recent test results of the Rafael Spyder short range air defence system and the systems’ performance in the ongoing war between Israel and the Iranian proxies in Gaza and Lebanon , make it a “best seller”. After selected by Morocco, the Czech Republic and Greece this system is now in the focus of interest by the Romanian ministry of defence.
The test was performed with the new configuration – All in One. The test included the interception of a UAV in what was describes as a challenging operational scenario, achieving a direct and effective intercept.
Brig. General (ret.) Zvika Haimovich is the former commander of the Israeli Air Defence Forces . He said that there are obvious parameters that make the Spyder system so popular.
“The System in its new version is mobile and this is a big advantage in combat affecting survivability and effectiveness”
He added that while the system is considered in the class of short range air defence systems (SHORAD), it is also affective in the medium range class and that gives it an advantage against a larger list of threats.
” Every such truck carrying the launcher and the sensors, is actually an independent battery and this is very important in an area that has to deal with multiple threats”
Haimovich added that the price of the Spyder all in one version also contributes to its popularity “when the threat comes in the form of multiple targets like swarms of armed drones, the price of the interceptors becomes a major consideration”
This capability according to Rafael is not less that crucial , as in Ukraine and now in Israel ,armed UAV’ and armed drones are operated in big numbers and cause casualties.
The SPYDER system, according to Rafael has proved its capability against various airborne threats, including missiles, UAVs, aircraft, helicopters, and tactical ballistic missiles (TBMs). The system intercepts threats using two families of RAFAEL-manufactured air-air missiles, PYTHON 5 and Derby.
Recently, RAFAEL introduced a new configuration for the SPYDER – the All in One, featuring an integrated radar, electro-optical sensor, launcher, advanced control and command system, and the two missiles used for air defence.
A Rafael representative told Zona Militar that 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 representative from the company’s air defence systems directorate , said that the big interest in the Spyder All In One version stems from the understanding that there is an operational need to protect assets including long range air defence systems ” The armed drones swarms that have become very popular without any doubt will also target major air defence systems so there is a crucial need to protect them and the Spyder is a good solution”
He also added that the Spyder all in one is carried by a truck and is controlled with a hardened laptop in the trucks’ cabin
“The combination of the AESA radar and our Top Lite optical sensor allows pin point intercepts”
He added that the optical sensor enables shutting down the radar when it can help the enemy to target the air defence system.
The Romanian government has allocated 2.1 billion U.S $ for the upgrade of the country’s air defence systems .
Romanian defence officials visited Israel and were briefed about the system.
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