Romania’s Ministry of Defense announced today that it has selected Israel’s Rafael Advanced Defense Systems as the winner of its tender for the procurement of a short-range and ultra-short-range air defense system (V/SHORAD). The tender is worth an estimated €1.9 billion ($2.2 billion), with previous reports indicating that the system offered by Rafael is the Spyder. The agreement between the Romanian Ministry of Defense and Rafael has not yet been signed, but the ministry’s statement indicates that the decision has been made and the signing is a formal procedure.
On signing, this deal will become the second largest defense sale ever by the State of Israel, after the sale of the Arrow 3 air defense system by Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) to Germany in 2023, for $3.5 billion. That deal broke the record of the sale of the Barak 8 (MRSAM) systems to India in April 2017, for $1.6 billion. About a month later, naval Barak 8 missiles were sold for an additional $630 million.
Spyder is an advanced air defense system, which is in operational use in several armies around the world, including the Czech Republic and Morocco, and provides air defense solutions at different ranges and against a variety of aerial threats, including drones, aircraft, helicopters and short-range ballistic missiles. The system intercepts the threats using two families of interceptors manufactured by Rafael – Python and Derby.
The tender that Rafael won was approved by the parliament in Bucharest in 2020, and the procurement process began in 2023. This strategic deal completes Romania’s air defense procurement, which included shoulder-launched missile systems and platforms for long-range threats.
The Romanians plan to finance part of the deal, using funding from the EU, including the Ammunition Production Support Act (ASAP) and the Strengthening the European Defense Industry through Joint Procurement Act (EDIRPA), which will require the Israeli company to subcontract production to companies In Europe, and Romania in particular. However, Rafael has extensive experience in integrating foreign companies, with its well-known product series – Spike series anti-tank missiles – being manufactured in Europe by Eurospike, which is a joint venture of Rafael and two European companies, with equal holdings.
Rafael defeated Germany and France
Beyond the deal itself and its high value, this is a significant achievement for Rafael, due to the rivals it faced in the tender: the Korean company League NEX1 was eliminated from the process last year, due to problems with the tender documents, but more significant than it were the European giant MBDA and the German company Diehl. MBDA, headquartered in Paris, offered the Mistral 3, while Diehl offered the IRIS systems. About a month ago, Rafael remained the final bidder left in the tender process, but at that time, there was concern that it might be canceled, due to gaps between the Israeli company and the Romanian Ministry of Defense. Gaps that were clarified today that had been resolved, and led to the closing of the deal.
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A substantial advantage of the Spider system, which likely influenced the Romanian decision-making process, is the possibility of using the Spider in its unique All in ONE version. This configuration offers a complete air defense system that includes: an integral radar, a dedicated electro-optical payload, an advanced command and control system, and Python and Derby interceptors, all installed on just one vehicle.
This configuration constitutes an optimal air defense solution for point defense or as air defense for maneuvering forces, as part of a Spider battery or in an independent deployment and operated by a minimal team of operators. In a trial conducted in January 2024 in Israel, several scenarios simulating existing and future threats were examined, during which the Spider system, in its new configuration, intercepted an unmanned aerial vehicle in a challenging operational scenario with a direct and precise hit.
Published by Globes, Israel business news – en.globes.co.il – on June 30, 2025.
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