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Israeli Air Defense Operators Learn from Wars Near and Far
An Iron Dome anti-missile system fires an interceptor missile as a rocket is launched from the Gaza Strip towards Israel, at the sky near the Israel-Gaza border August 7, 2022. REUTERS/Amir Cohen
JNS.org – Israeli air defense operators and system engineers are learning lessons from both local and overseas conflict zones, as a global and regional technological arms race continues to unfold.
In Israel, fighting a multi-front war against Iranian-backed jihadist armies that have fired barrages of drones, cruise missiles and ballistic threats, a rapid and continuous evolution in air defense capabilities is ongoing.
This evolution is somewhat informed by overseas flashpoints such as the Ukrainian-Russian war and even the India–Pakistan flare-up. Iran, meanwhile, continues to mass-produce and develop a host of ballistic and cruise missiles and drones.
The primary challenge remains robust detection and accurate identification of diverse threats, an informed Western observer told JNS.
This is particularly acute with the proliferation of low-cost drones that can be hard to distinguish from benign aerial objects or even friendly assets, as tragically highlighted in past incidents, such as the Oct. 13, 2024, Hezbollah drone strike on the Golani Brigade training base near Binyamina, which killed four soldiers and injured dozens.
“The first question is detection,” the observer stated. “The second is the ability to identify and verify,” he added. “Israel faces this problem with UAV infiltrations, where it’s difficult to distinguish them from, say, helicopters operating on similar routes.”
This complex threat environment is driving significant upgrades across Israel’s renowned multi-layered air defense array.
The Iron Dome
Building on operational lessons from the current war, the Israel Missile Defense Organization (IMDO) in the Defense Ministry and Haifa-based Rafael Advanced Defense Systems successfully completed a series of comprehensive flight tests for the Iron Dome system in March 2025. These tests examined scenarios simulating current and future threats, including rockets, cruise missiles and UAVs, and incorporated enhancements to the system.
“Throughout this war, we’ve seen that the Iron Dome… remains a critical asset,” said IMDO director Moshe Patel at the time of the trial, adding that its capabilities are continuously being enhanced “on both land and sea—even while operating under fire.”
Rafael CEO Yoav Tourgeman described the current war as the “largest and most significant ever conducted with the Iron Dome.”
The sheer quantity of ordnance expended in modern conflicts, both offensively and defensively, is another critical lesson, according to the Western source.
“One of the key takeaways is the enormous consumption of ammunition,” he stated. This has led to massive American funding for replenishing Israel’s stocks of Iron Dome, David’s Sling and Arrow interceptors.
The Defense Ministry and Israel Aerospace Industries signed a multi-billion-shekel deal in December 2024 to significantly expand the procurement of Arrow 3 interceptors, which are designed to engage long-range ballistic threats of the type the Houthis in Yemen frequently fire at Israel, in space, before they reenter the atmosphere and potentially maneuver.
However, the observer cautioned about waiting for too long for funding to arrive to boost capabilities.
“From the moment a check arrives until a missile is delivered, factoring in supply chain issues, it can be years. Aid is announced, [but] takes months to arrive, and then often comes in batches.”
This necessitates sophisticated planning and, at times, for the Defense Ministry to take calculated risks to fund production gaps, or “bridge,” as the source said, needing to overcome bureaucratic elements focused strictly on procedure.
The war in Ukraine offers a stark illustration of high-intensity air warfare. “The Ukrainians and Russians are on a contact line reminiscent of World War I, though the Russians are slowly pushing,” he said.
For Ukraine, with its vast territory and roughly 100 brigades to equip, the primary need is for tactical, shorter-range air defense systems, supplemented by longer-range air defense capabilities like the Patriot mobile interceptor missile surface-to-air missile (SAM) system. “They don’t need many long-range strike assets; what they have, they use effectively, converting various systems to strike deep into Russia,” he said.
A significant development in Ukraine has been the extensive use of drones with fiber-optic tethers for secure communications, a response to potent Russian electronic warfare (ECM) capabilities.
However, the observer clarified, “It’s not really a new genre.” In fact, he argued, it’s the anti-tank guided missile (ATGM) that has significantly hampered Russian armored advances.
For that threat, Israeli armored vehicles are equipped with active protection systems—either the Rafael Trophy for tanks or Elbit Systems’ Iron Fist.
Israel, the observer continued, must enhance defenses for its own heavy unmanned aerial vehicles, and even its helicopters, drawing lessons from incidents like Houthi attacks on expensive American drones.
This necessitates bolstering “soft-kill” capabilities, primarily those targeting Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS—the generic term for a range of satellite navigation system—including GPS, GLONASS and Galileo).
“Soft defense is strengthening today, mainly because a large part of attack assets use GNSS,” he explained. “Its advantage is that it generally affects everyone in the area, requires relatively few personnel and resources, and is much cheaper than kinetic [firepower] interceptors.”
Manpower remains a primary constraint for Israel, as it is for many European nations, the source noted, when it comes to air defenses. “People don’t realize this is the first limitation,” the observer stressed.
While Israel can utilize trained reservists, especially for systems such as older artillery cannons, automation is being pursued, though its ability to fully compensate for manpower shortages is debatable without compromising certain command structures preferred by the Air Force.
The Iron Beam
Looking to the future, Israel is on the cusp of deploying a revolutionary capability: the Iron Beam high-energy laser system. Developed by Rafael and the Defense Ministry, Iron Beam is expected to be operational by the end of 2025 and will be integrated into Israel’s multi-layered defense network.
Rafael confirmed to JNS in mid-March that “the system has already demonstrated successful interceptions, and Rafael, together with Israel’s defense establishment, is accelerating its deployment.”
A senior Defense Ministry official described it in March as a “technological breakthrough at the global level,” capable of downing rockets, mortars, UAVs and cruise missiles.
The most significant advantage of Iron Beam is its low cost. “Each interception costs only a few dollars in electricity,” Rafael stated, fundamentally changing the economic equation where adversaries launch cheap projectiles against expensive interceptors. A single Iron Dome Tamir interceptor costs around $50,000, while terrorist rockets can cost as little as $500.
Iron Beam, with its 100-kilowatt laser and an effective range of eight-10 kilometers, will provide “continuous protection with an unlimited interception capacity,” according to a Rafael source. It will be connected to Israel’s national threat detection grid and will complement Iron Dome, with command algorithms deciding when to use lasers versus missiles.
While ground-based initially, laser systems are also being developed for mobile ground units, and airborne platforms, with a successful 2021 test of an airborne laser intercepting UAVs in the skies. This technology is being closely watched internationally, with Lockheed Martin partnering with Rafael to develop an export version for the U.S. market.
Preparing for the future
To address urgent operational needs during the current war, the IDF also confirmed the deployment of Rafael’s Spyder mobile air defense system. The Spyder All-in-One (AiO) version, which integrates radar, command, launcher and camera sensor on a single vehicle for high mobility, is in service and has conducted several successful UAV interceptions.
The Israeli Air Force also announced on May 6 the establishment of a new air defense battalion, though details of its specific systems (whether laser, Spyder or other) were not disclosed, it points to ongoing expansion and specialization of air defense units.
Every interception, or failure to intercept, provides invaluable data. “Every attack event in Ukraine, Israel, or India-Pakistan is accompanied by lessons learned,” the observer noted.
He pointed to instances where even advanced systems like Arrow 3, which successfully intercepts ballistic missiles in space, don’t always achieve a kill, sometimes due to the complexities of discriminating the warhead carrying reentry vehicle from other debris, like the spent motor, especially when these components travel at similar speeds. “The interceptor is not 100%; it depends on many other things,” including correct target identification by the detection system.
On May 4, a Houthi ballistic missile fired at Ben-Gurion Airport hit near a terminal building after an Arrow 3 interceptor, as well as a U.S. THAAD interceptor, missed it. The IAF later concluded that its interceptor suffered a rare malfunction.
The arms race between air defenders and attackers does not look to be slowing down any time soon.
The post Israeli Air Defense Operators Learn from Wars Near and Far first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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French Authorities Replant Memorial Olive Tree and Launch Seventh Ilan Halimi Award
A crowd gathers at the Jardin Ilan Halimi in Paris on Feb. 14, 2021, to commemorate the 15th anniversary of Halimi’s kidnapping and murder. Photo: Reuters/Xose Bouzas/Hans Lucas
French authorities planted a new olive tree on Wednesday to honor Ilan Halimi, nearly a decade after the young French Jewish man was tortured to death and two weeks after a previous commemorative tree was cut down.
Hervé Chevreau, mayor of the norther Paris suburb Épinay, announced that several olive trees will be replanted in Halimi’s memory, praising “a remarkable outpouring of solidarity” reflected in the donations.
With a commemorative ceremony on Wednesday, the first olive tree will be planted in Saint-Ouen, a northern suburb of Paris in the Île-de-France region.
“In the context of rising antisemitic acts, the community aims to reaffirm its steadfast commitment against hatred, forgetfulness, and indifference,” Chevreau said in a statement. “This gesture of reflection and resilience responds to the serious act of vandalism in Épinay-sur-Seine, where the commemorative tree was deliberately cut down.”
Halimi was abducted, held captive, and tortured in January 2006 by a gang of about 20 people in a low-income housing estate in the Paris suburb of Bagneux.
Three weeks later, he was found in Essonne, south of Paris, naked, gagged, and handcuffed, with clear signs of torture and burns. The 23-year-old died on the way to the hospital.
In 2011, an olive tree was planted in Halimi’s memory. Earlier this month, the memorial was found felled — probably with a chainsaw — in Epinay-sur-Seine.
Halimi’s memory has faced attacks before, with two other trees planted in his honor vandalized in 2019 in Essonne.
During Wednesday’s ceremony, numerous prominent figures attended, including France’s Chief Rabbi Haim Korsia, Yonathan Arfi, President of the Representative Council of Jewish Institutions in France (CRIF), Labor Minister Astrid Panosyan-Bouvet, and Minister for Gender Equality and the Fight Against Discrimination Aurore Bergé.
At the event, Bergé announced the launch of the seventh edition of the Ilan Halimi Award, marking 20 years since his disappearance.
Established in 2018, the award seeks to fight racism and antisemitism by inspiring young people to take action.
Since then, French authorities have annually recognized projects led by young people aged 13 to 25 from schools, universities, associations, and civic or integration programs.
“The launch of the 2026 edition of the Ilan Halimi Award in Sainte-Geneviève-des-Bois is more than an act of remembrance — it is a pledge to the future,” Bergé said during the ceremony.
Ils peuvent tronçonner un arbre, nous replanterons.
Ils peuvent abattre un arbre, nous ferons vivre la mémoire.Nous ne laisserons pas Ilan Halimi disparaître une nouvelle fois.
Le Prix Ilan Halimi 2026 est lancé. pic.twitter.com/Tn9SxlARJA
— Aurore Bergé (@auroreberge) September 2, 2025
Last week, two 19-year-old Tunisian twin brothers, undocumented and with prior convictions for theft and violence, were arrested in France for allegedly vandalizing and cutting down Halimi’s memorial.
Both brothers appeared in criminal court and were remanded in custody pending their trial, scheduled for Oct. 22.
They will face trial on charges of “aggravated destruction of property” and “desecration of a monument dedicated to the memory of the dead on the basis of race, ethnicity, nationality, or religion,” offenses that, according to prosecutors, carry a sentence of up to two years in prison.
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After Deadly Firebombing, Boulder Jews Forced to Hide Weekly Hostage March Due to Escalating Harassment
Boulder attack suspect Mohamed Sabry Soliman poses for a jail booking photograph after his arrest in Boulder, Colorado, US, June 2, 2025. Photo: Boulder Police Department/Handout via REUTERS
A group of Jewish activists advocating for the Israeli hostages still held captive by Hamas terrorists in Gaza has announced plans to cease publicizing planned demonstrations and increase security in response to continued community intimidation in the months following a June 1 Molotov cocktail attack that left one person dead and 13 injured.
The group Run for Their Lives includes more than 230 chapters globally, and the one based in Boulder will now take extra measures to protect participants since the attack, for which authorities have charged alleged assailant Mohamed Sabry Soliman, which has in turn provoked further opposition.
Videos reviewed by the Jewish Community Relations Council (JCRC) show anti-Israel demonstrators calling event attendees “Nazi,” “racist,” and “genocidal c**t.”
A local politician running for city council has also demonized the hostage supporters.
CBS Colorado reported that Aaron Stone allegedly called Rachel Amaru, the chapter’s Jewish founder, a “Nazi,” a slur he defended as “a very strong word to use.” He further said that in looking at Amaru he was “not seeing a Jewish person” but rather “someone who is walking down the street talking about 20 hostages and ignoring the two million Palestinian hostages that are being kept in Gaza.”
Brandon Rattiner, senior director of the local Jewish Community Relations Council, said in a statement that “participants are facing a level of harassment that makes it impossible to continue safely in public view.”
Stefanie Clarke, who serves as co-executive director of Stop Antisemitism Colorado, added in a statement that “it is unacceptable that less than three months after a deadly antisemitic attack, Jews in Boulder are once again being forced into hiding.”
Clarke stated that “we will not be intimidated, and we will not be driven out of public spaces where we should feel safe. The fact that someone seeking a seat on City Council is at the center of this harassment should be cause for alarm. Boulder cannot claim to be a city of inclusion and justice while giving a platform to Jew hate.”
The mountain states regional branch of the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) released its own statement in support of the pro-Israel activists.
“We stand in firm solidarity with the Boulder chapter of Run for Their Lives following their difficult decision to no longer publicly disclose the location of their events,” the organization said. “It is deeply unfortunate that after enduring the horrific June 1 firebomb attack that resulted in the death of a community member, participants now face such persistent harassment that they must keep their gatherings secret to simply stay safe.”
On July 15, Soliman, who pleaded not guilty, waved his right to a preliminary hearing in a case where the 150 state charges and 12 federal charges include murder and attempted murder. He will see a judge on Tuesday for a scheduled arraignment and faces life imprisonment if convicted.
Prosecutors say that Soliman, an Egyptian who came to the United States on a B-2 Tourist Visa in August 2022, told police that “he wanted to kill all Zionist people” and that he sought to murder 20 of the demonstrators. A note found in his car read “Zionism is our enemies untill [sic] Jerusalem is liberated and they are expelled from our land.”
Soliman also reportedly said that he had planned the attack for a year and planned it for after his daughter’s graduation. Federal officials sought to deport Soliman’s family; however, a judge blocked that effort.
“This is a proper end to an absurd legal effort on the plaintiff’s part. Just like her terrorist husband, she and her children are here illegally and are rightfully in ICE [US Immigration and Customs Enforcement] custody for removal as a result,” Tricia McLaughlin, assistant secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, said in a statement. “This terrorist will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. We are investigating to what extent his family knew about this heinous attack, if they had knowledge of it, or if they provided support to it.”
In August, the ADL released a report ranking Colorado — which contains approximately 110,400 Jewish residents, accounting for 1.9 percent of the population — as eighth in the country for combating antisemitism.
“I am thrilled that the Anti-Defamation League has recognized Colorado as a national leader in fighting antisemitism, but there is much more to do,” the state’s governor Jared Polis said at the time. “Such hate and violence have no place in our Colorado for All, and that is why Colorado is leading the way to combat these trends and protect Coloradans’ right to worship how you want, making Colorado safer.”
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Lead Writer of Upcoming DC Comics Series Celebrated Oct. 7 Massacre in Resurfaced Social Media Posts
Gretchen Felker-Martin joins a virtual discussion from home. Photo: Screenshot
Gretchen Felker-Martin, an author and film critic who was recently announced as lead writer of the upcoming DC Comics series “Red Hood,” has an extensive history of endorsing terrorist acts and defending the murder of Jews and Israelis, according to a review of the writer’s social media posts.
In the posts — screenshots of which circulated on X/Twitter and other platforms this week — Felker-Martin appeared to praise Osama bin Laden for the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in the US and expressed support for Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, invasion of and massacre across southern Israel.
During the Oct. 7 onslaught, as Hamas-led Palestinian terrorists murdered 1,200 people and kidnapped 251 hostages in the deadliest single-day slaughter of Jews since the Holocaust, Felker-Martin argued that Israeli civilians are “settlers” and an “occupying force whose daily lives serve to grind out the hope, culture, and memory of those they oppress.” She also seemingly defended Hamas’s murdering of Israeli babies, saying that Israel is an “imperialist nightmare” and that Hamas is trying to “survive their rule by any means necessary.”
Hamas is designated by several countries as a terrorist organization.
“You cannot subject human beings to brutal conditions under which no hope for a meaningful future exists and then blame them for violent action taken to correct this state. Free Palestine,” she wrote on Oct. 7.
Later that month, Felker-Martin wrote that “Zionism is full-fledged Nazism and has accrued mainstream support throughout the west because of that, not in spite of it.”
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As the ensuing war in Gaza continued in the months ahead, Felker-Martin sharpened her criticisms of Israel, condemning Zionists as “crazy” and comparing them to “slime.” The writer also lambasted Neil Druckmann, the Israeli creator of the popular “The Last of Us” video game series, for being a “Zionist.” She encouraged fellow progressives not to support then-US Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris, condemning Harris for not “moving an inch on the genocide.” She also falsely accused Israel of inflicting a “famine” in Gaza and repudiated actress Hailee Steinfeld as a “Zionist piece of s**t.” Steinfeld has seemingly not made public statements about Israel but came under fire from leftists after she visited the Jewish state with family in 2019 for a party.
Felker-Martin separately defended Osama bin Laden’s role in the Sept. 11 terror attacks, writing that “blowing up the World Trade Center is probably the most principled and defensible thing he ever did.”
Jewish organizations and antisemitism watchdog groups quickly condemned the remarks. StandWithUs, a nonpartisan pro-Israel organization, urged DC Comics to reconsider hiring Felker-Martin, citing her inflammatory and offensive commentary.