Rafael contributes the missiles for Israel's Iron Dome air-defense system.
FARNBOROUGH—Israeli missile manufacturer Rafael is doubling down on its R&D investments despite pressure on production from the war in Gaza and overseas customer demand, CEO Yoav Tourgeman tells Aviation Week.
The maker of air defense equipment and air-to-air and air-to-ground weapons used heavily during the Israel-Hamas war says it has significantly ramped up output, moving in some cases to working around the clock. Rafael has added 1,500 staff members and may grow that figure to 2,000 new employees by year’s end.
The company is also responding to address its record backlog that swelled by 47% last year, representing 3.6 years of sales. Revenue last year already advanced 21%.
“We have fulfilled all our obligations to customers,” says Tourgeman, who took on the CEO role after the conflict began.
Despite the production pressures, Tourgeman says he is not willing to sacrifice investments in the future to address the near-term challenges. Its funding for R&D has gone up “dramatically,” he says, with Rafael spending more than 8% of sales on research and development. “I will not compromise on that,” he adds.
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