Israel activates ‘Barak Magen’ for the first time: All about the new ‘lightning shield’ deployed to intercept Iranian drones

Barak Magen has a mix of radar, command systems, and a set of smart vertical launchers (Image: IDF)

On Sunday night, Israel activated its newly developed aerial defense system for the first time– dubbed “Barak Magen” meaning “lightning shield”, announcing it had shot down several Iranian drones.

Eight Iranian drones were intercepted by the Israeli Navy using the "Barak Magen" along with its long-range air defense (LRAD) interceptor, which were launched from an Israeli navy Sa’ar 6 missile ship, according to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).

All you need to know about Israel’s Barak Magen:

-Barak Magen simply means “lightning shield” in Hebrew. It is a highly sophisticated and advanced aerial defence system created by the Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), capable of detecting and taking down a range of airborne threats.

-John Hannah, senior fellow at The Jewish Institute for National Security of America (JINSA), in conversation with Fox News Digital on Monday, said that the Barak Magen "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,” he was quoted as saying.

-Barak Magen has a mix of radar, command systems, and a set of smart vertical launchers -- including short-range, medium-range, and long-range interceptors. They can all be launched straight up from the ship to hit incoming threats from any direction.

-Types of missiles that Barak Magen uses -- Barak MRAD for short and medium ranges (up to 35 km); Barak LRAD for medium to long ranges (up to 70 km); and Barak ER for extended ranges (up to 150 km).

-As per military intelligence portal Janes, the first live trial of Barak Magen was carried out in November 2022 aboard the INS Magen, which is a Sa’ar 6-class warship.

-As per the Fox News report, citing IDF, the system can intercept a “wide range of threats” which includes unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), cruise missiles, high-trajectory threats and shore-to-sea missiles.