Israel activates 'Barak Magen' aerial defenses for system's first ever interception

Israel activated a new aerial defense system – dubbed "Barak Magen," meaning "lightning shield" – for the first time on Sunday night, saying it intercepted and destroyed multiple Iranian drones.

The Israeli Navy intercepted eight Iranian drones using the "Barak Magen" and its long-range air defense (LRAD) interceptor, which were launched from an Israeli navy Sa’ar 6 missile ship, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement.

John Hannah, senior fellow at the National Security of America and the co-author of a report published earlier this month on Israel’s defense against two massive Iranian missile attacks in 2024, told Fox News Digital on Monday that the air defense system "significantly enhances" the air and missile defense architecture of Israel’s navy.

"The Barak Magen is simply another arrow in the expanding quiver of Israel’s highly sophisticated and increasingly diverse multi-tiered missile defense architecture – which was already, by leaps and bounds, the most advanced and experienced air defense system fielded by any country in the world," Hannah said.

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The system can intercept a "wide range of threats," according to the IDF, including unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), cruise missiles, high-trajectory threats and shore-to-sea missiles.

Hannah said the system not only provides force protection for the Israeli fleet but also gives long-distance protection to Israel’s expanding oil and gas infrastructure in the eastern Mediterranean, along with critical infrastructure and population centers located along Israel’s coastline.

"It allows Israel to conduct interceptions at significant distances from the Israeli homeland, both out in the eastern Mediterranean and the Red Sea, and thereby adds critically important strategic depth when defending Israel’s tiny geographic area," he said.

The IDF said that the Israeli Navy’s missile ship flotilla has intercepted about 25 UAVs that posed a threat to Israel since the conflict with Iran escalated.

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Israel and Iran traded missile strikes for the fourth day on Monday, with Iran firing a new wave of strikes that killed at least eight people and wounded dozens more.

Meanwhile, the Israeli military claimed it had achieved air superiority above Tehran, warning about 330,000 people in a central part of the Iranian capital to evacuate ahead of new strikes.