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An infographic Rafael is displaying at the Singapore Airshow.
SINGAPORE—Rafael is boosting its focus on space while the company also awaits a decision by the Israeli government about taking the state-owned defense technology specialist public.
Rafael is splitting the cyber and intelligence operations that house space activities from the aviation portfolio, giving it more prominence. “The space business has grown, and we are entering into a new era, so we want that level of management attention,” CEO Yoav Tourgeman said.
The company is seeing increases in sales, new orders and the number of active programs, he added in an interview during the Singapore Airshow.
Rafael, which has a history as a space component supplier, now is looking to focus on high-revisit-rate, affordable systems to allow persistent threat monitoring. The company deployed a proprietary telescope technology on six low-Earth-orbit LiteSat spacecraft that Israel used to prepare last year’s military operations against Iran.
The roughly 200-kg (440-lb.) satellite delivers 30-cm (1-ft.) resolution in electro-optical mode and 80 cm in near infrared.
The company will expand its product to other satellite applications, he said, though probably not radars.
Tourgeman said the company will sell satellites but possibly also offer data services, potentially through a subsidiary.
Rafael has been rapidly expanding production in other areas as well to address Israeli demand to restock after more than two years of conflict. Tourgeman said that a government decision to either take the company public or privatize it some other way could help expansion plans by making it easier for Rafael to tap commercial lending.
Being private would allow the company to be more agile. “I think we have done very well, but we can do much better,” he said. “I think this is the right way.”
Rafael is also starting to lift the veil somewhat on which systems the Israel Defense Forces inaugurated during recent fighting. Among them is the Rocks air-launched ballistic missile.
Tourgeman also said the company is continuing to work on its Iron Beam laser counter-drone and rocket system that the Israeli government has successfully employed. Among the enhancements being introduced and repaired are range extension and reducing required engagement time, he noted. A naval version also is in development.
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