Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, the Israeli company behind Iron Dome and David's Sling, has displayed a full-scale model of Sky Sonic, its interceptor designed to counter hypersonic missiles. JNS reported that the model is on show at the Association of the United States Army (AUSA) exhibition in Washington. Rafael first unveiled Sky Sonic at the 2023 Paris Air Show, but has not disclosed how far testing has progressed or when the system could become operational.
In an interview with The Jerusalem Post at the show, Rafael CEO Yoav Tourgeman dismissed the view that hypersonic weapons form an entirely new class of threat. He said Rafael already holds much of the technology required to defeat advanced missiles.
He also cited the record of the systems that protect Israel's cities. He said Iron Dome and David's Sling have intercepted more than 11,000 threats between them since they entered service and that "there would have been a lot more blood in the streets without the Iron Dome."
He said Israel's supply of Iron Dome interceptors had grown despite the recent fighting: "We ended the war with more Tamir interceptors than before."
He added that the more urgent danger comes from coordinated attacks that pair large numbers of cheap drones with conventional missiles. He pointed to Hunter Eagle, a Rafael concept he described as a platform that can operate within a mesh network against drone swarms, in both offensive and defensive roles.
Rafael is also producing in the United States through a joint venture with Raytheon. Last week, the Raytheon-Rafael plant in East Camden, Arkansas, delivered its first fully U.S.-built Tamir interceptor, the missile fired by Iron Dome. Arutz Sheva reported that the interceptor went to the Israel Missile Defense Organization, the body within the Defense Ministry's research and development directorate that is responsible for developing Israel's multi-layered missile defense.
