A Ukrainian Antonov 124, the heaviest cargo plane in Ukraine's service, recently transported three Spyder air defense system batteries, made by Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, from Israel to Georgia, Ukraine's Militarnyi website reports.
Such a move is interesting, because neither Georgia nor Rafael has announced a new Spyder deal, nor that the system has already been delivered. The intriguing flight that departed from Ben Gurion Airport crossed Turkish airspace to Georgia, without Ankara apparently even being aware of what it was carrying.
In August, Turkey announced that it was barring Israeli flights from using its airspace if they were carrying any military cargo.
Rafael has had a relationship with Georgia for many years. Georgia procured its first Spyder system in 2008, an SR model that used Python 5 and Derby missiles. According to foreign publications, about 10 countries worldwide are already operating the Spyder system. The first NATO member to procure it was the Czech Republic; in the Middle East, it is deployed by the UAE; in North Africa, by Morocco; and in East Asia, by the Philippines, Vietnam, and Singapore.
The reported delivery of the latest Spyder system to Georgia underscores how countries surrounding Russia are equipping themselves with air defense systems, particularly Israeli-made ones.
The mobile system incorporates Rafael’s advanced Python-5 and I-Derby missiles to provide short, medium, and long-range protection against a range of threats, including attack aircraft, cruise missiles, unmanned aerial vehicles, stand-off weapons, and more.
The system, which uses an electro-optical observation payload and wireless data link communication, can engage multiple threats simultaneously up to 80 kilometers away in all weather conditions.
At the end of June, Rafael won a Romanian Ministry of Defense tender to supply a short- and ultra-short-range Spyder air defense system for approximately €1.9 billion. In addition, Finland procured Rafael's David's Sling medium-range air defense system in 2023 for € 316 million, and Israel Aerospace Industries' Arrow 3 system became operational last week in Germany.
Jerusalem Post Staff contributed to this report