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Rafael Advanced Defense Systems was founded in 1948 as the IDF's Science Corps (HEMED) and was corporatized as a government-owned company in 2002. The company is headquartered in the Haifa region, with major R&D and manufacturing campuses at the David Institute (Krayot) and Leshem Institute (Misgav). Rafael is fully owned by the State of Israel and is not publicly traded. The company employs roughly 8,500 people, overwhelmingly based in Israel. Rafael develops and manufactures air defense systems, missiles, and combat architectures for the IDF and foreign militaries. During the 2023-2024 Iron Swords war, the company significantly accelerated the production of Tamir interceptors for Iron Dome and advanced the deployment timeline for the "Iron Beam" high-energy laser system.

The primary product lines include air defense systems, anti-tank guided missiles, and active protection systems for armored vehicles. The primary buyers are the Israeli Ministry of Defense and allied foreign militaries through direct and G2G contracts. Rafael's capabilities are built on internal R&D in electro-optics, radar signal processing, aerodynamics, and algorithmics. Engineering teams develop hardware, embedded software, and real-time command and control systems.

"Iron Dome" is a C-RAM (Counter Rocket, Artillery, and Mortar) and short-range air defense system co-developed with US funding. "David's Sling", co-developed with Raytheon, targets medium-to-long-range ballistic and cruise missiles. "Trophy" is an Active Protection System (APS) that detects and intercepts incoming anti-tank threats. It is deployed on Israeli Merkava tanks, Namer APCs, and US Army Abrams tanks. The "Spike" family includes precision-guided electro-optical missiles of varying ranges.

Rafael's direct local competitors are Elbit Systems and Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), while global competitors include Lockheed Martin, Raytheon, and MBDA. The company holds specific market share in active protection systems and short-range interception technologies. Rafael is experiencing tailwinds due to increased global defense budgets following the war in Ukraine and the ongoing conflict in Israel.

Rafael is one of the largest employers in northern Israel, operating R&D and production sites at the David and Leshem institutes, alongside a facility in Shlomi and offices in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, and Be'er Sheva. The company typically hires hardware engineers, C/C++ embedded developers, algorithm researchers, and systems engineers. Rafael serves as a direct R&D pipeline for the Israeli defense establishment, frequently recruiting veterans from IDF technological units and the Talpiot program, and maintains strategic research partnerships with the Technion.

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