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.

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