A photograph released on 10 January 2024 shows a Rafael SPYDER All in One air-defence system launching a Python missile in a test. (Rafael Advanced Defense Systems)
Rafael and the Israel Ministry of Defense's (MoD's) Directorate for Defense Research and Development have completed a successful test of the All in One (AiO) variant of the company's SPYDER air-defence system, it was announced on 10 January.
Carried out in December 2023, the test included the interception of an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) “in a challenging operational scenario, achieving a direct and effective hit”, Rafael said in a statement. “The success of the test is a significant milestone in developing the system against different threats and demonstrates the system's outstanding effectiveness in intercepting challenging ground-launched threats.”
Introduced at the Singapore Air Show in February 2022, the SPYDER AiO has its radar and command station on the same vehicle as the launcher and electro-optical sensor, rather than on separate vehicles like the other variants of the SPYDER family, which uses the Python-5, I-Derby, and I-Derby ER air-to-air missiles in the ground-based air-defence role.
Rafael says the AiO's radar can detect targets while moving, with the system transitioning into its stationary firing mode within three minutes, during which time the radar is elevated, stabilising jacks lowered, and the launcher raised to a nearly vertical position.
It can use all three of the missiles, but not ones fitted with the booster that increases the ranges of the SPYDER-MR and LR systems, so has a maximum range of 40 km with the I-Derby ER.
Rafael released a video of the SPYDER AiO test showing the system launching a Python-5 that hit the target UAV.
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