Rafael Advanced Defense Systems Ltd (Rafael) is Israel’s third largest arms company and is owned by the Israeli government. Based in Haifa, it was founded as the Israeli government’s national defence research and development laboratory focused on the development of weapons and military technologies primarily for Israeli defence clients. It became a limited company in 2002.
Rafael has 10,000 staff and reports that it is the biggest employer in northern Israel. The company reported sales of US$ 4.8 billion and a net profit of US$257 million in 2024. It has subsidiaries and offices in Australia, Brazil, Germany, India, Thailand, the UAE, and the UK.
Its two UK subsidiaries – RUK Advanced Systems and Newcastle-based Pearson Engineering– are 75% owned by the Israeli government. RUK Advanced Systems sells weapons including urban combat missiles and “hard kill” torpedoes while Pearson Engineering provides protective equipment for armoured vehicles in combat terrain, for example assisting them to breach minefields and clear explosive ordinances.
Drones, missiles and missile defence systems
Rafael produces a wide range of weaponry and exports arms all over the world. It is notable for the wide range of missiles and missile defence systems it has created principally for its Israeli defence clients.
Israel’s best-known medium- to long-range missile defence system, the Iron Dome, was developed by Rafael and Israel Aerospace Industries from 2007 and first operational in 2011. In 2020, Rafael and Raytheon formed the R2S joint venture to produce interceptors for the Iron Dome.
Other of its missile defence systems operational in Israel include David’s Sling, developed with Raytheon (and also acquired by Finland), and the Trophy anti-missile system for armoured vehicles (acquired by Germany). Rafael reports that its Spyder family of short- to long-range mobile, quick-reaction missile defence systems is used by military clients in eight countries including Czechia and Romania.
Israel and the Palestinian territories
Since most of Rafael’s business is with Israeli armed forces and Rafael is a government-owned company, its products and systems are widely used in Israel and and the Palestinian territories. The post-2023 Gaza crisis has served as a testing ground for some of Rafael’s new products; several of its products and how they have been used in Palestinian territories are highlighted below.
The Israeli military has used Rafael’s Spike Guided Missiles to target individuals inside buildings in the Gaza strip. Promotional material for the Spike ‘firefly’ miniature loitering munition appears to show footage of the execution of an unarmed man in Gaza. Spike missiles have been linked to an April 2024 attack against humanitarian workers in Gaza. Rafael is reported to be working with the US army to ‘Americanise’ production of the missile. Spike was acquired by the Colombian military in 2019 and the government of Thailand’s Defence Technology Institute has agreed to produce the missiles in Thailand.
Rafael’s Matador (RGW 90), a portable shoulder-fired anti-tank rocket produced by its German subsidiary, has been linked to attacks in Gaza. The new Orbiter-4 ‘spark’ drone, launched in 2024, is designed to carry out intelligence missions, escort ground forces, and direct strikes. It was reported to have been extensively tested by the IDF in Gaza; countries including Singapore and Azerbaijan are reported to have acquired the drone. It is produced by Aeronautics, a company acquired by Rafael in 2019.
UK
Rafael has also supplied missile defense systems to the UK. For example, with British firm Babcock, Rafael has delivered and maintained the Sky Sabre air missile defense system since 2017, with the first units introduced to British forces in the Falklands.
India
India is reported to be one of Rafael’s largest markets outside of Israel. The company is engaged in several joint ventures in that country.
Kalyani Rafael Advanced Systems (KRAS) – a joint venture with the Indian Kalyani group – won a US$ 100m contract in 2019 to deliver medium-range surface-to-air missiles to the Indian armed forces, and with Premier Explosives Ltd, Rafael is supplying missile parts to the Indian armed forces. In 2025, the Indian government signed an MOU with Rafael to acquire Ice Breaker stand-off air-to-surface missiles.
Cyberintelligence and AI
Rafael has a significant cyberintelligence product portfolio and a burgeoning AI-assisted weaponry portfolio. It invests heavily in research and development in these domains.
In 2021, Rafael set up the Israeli Operational Technologies Cyber Consortium (IOTCC), a multi-company consortium assisted by the Israel National Cyber Directorate. It aims to help Israeli companies provide “defense solutions” particularly against cyber warfare activities on Israeli critical infrastructure.
Rafael is integrating AI capacities into its missile and missile defence business. In 2019, it unveiled its Rocks air-to-surface missile product which exploits a bespoke “Automatic Target Acquisition algorithm” to carry out strikes.
Rafael is engaged in a joint venture called Presight.ai with Emirati artificial intelligence specialist Group 42. Among its solutions is an “AI policing suite” for law enforcement end users. In 2020, Rafael joined forces with Israeli company Oosto (formerly Anyvision) to develop facial recognition technologies. The joint venture SightX is developing unarmed vehicles that would use AI to spot persons inside buildings.
Corruption and political influence
Rafael has faced allegations that it had corruptly obtained several contracts abroad.
In 2000, Rafael won a contract to supply the Indian armed forces with Barak 1 missiles. Neither the company nor any of its officials were charged, though an investigation by the Indian Central Bureau of Investigation, dropped in 2013, resulted in the resignation of the defence minister and dismissal of other senior politicians. India briefly blacklisted Rafael before reinstating it as a supplier in 2018.
In 2009, Rafael won a US$ 200 million contract to supply Mexico’s state-owned oil company with Command, Control & Communications (C3) equipment and drones. The contract was supervised by a former brigadier general and head of security for Mexican ex-president Enrique Pena Nieto who was investigated for embezzling oil profits, and questions have been raised about allegedly the inflated cost of the Rafael contract.
Questions have also been raised about Rafael’s relationship to UK members of parliament. A 2025 investigation by Declassified into Rafael’s UK subsidiary RUK Advanced Systems revealed that it had contributed funds to the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Defence Technology to facilitate networking events with MPs, prompting a parliamentary standards investigation. RUK Advanced Systems had been previously keeping a low profile, having deleted their website. Declassified’s investigation found that it did not have a physical office nor production facilities.
Campaigns and protest actions
As a prominent Israeli defence contractor, Rafael is frequently the subject of media exposes and has been targeted by campaign action in the UK and elsewhere.
Newcastle-based group Shut Down Rafael has frequently picketed outside the Pearson Engineering Newcastle operation to protest the company’s involvement in the genocide in Gaza. The local council has reportedly refused to receive a petition requesting it make enquiries as to what products are produced at the site. Pearson has stated to media that its products are not used in the Palestinian territories. Similar protests targeting Rafael have occurred in Cornwall.
