General Information
The Barak-1, and its later adaptation, Barak 8 or Barak MX, are both Surface to Air missiles. The Barak-1 was first developed by Rafael and Israel Aerospace industries (IAI). The Barak-8 is a joint Israel-Indian venture in which India’s Defense Research & Development Organization and Bharat Dynamics Limited, joined IAI and Rafael in its development and manufacturing.
In 2020, IAI said it has completed a successful series of trials of the Barak-ER, unveiling documentation of the trials.[1]BARAK ER missile defense system completes series of successful trials
The Barak missile systems were sold to Azerbaijan[2]SIPRI, Chile[3]SIPRI, Colombia[4]Info Defensa, Colombia destina 131 millones de dólares para la compra del sistema antiaéreo Barak MX, 01.01.2023, Cyprus[5]SIPRI, India, Morocco[6]Army Recognition, IAI from Israel validates contract with Morocco to deliver Barak MX air defense missile systems, 13.02.2022[7]Globes, IAI agrees $500m missile defense systems deal with Morocco, 13.02.2022, Netherlands[8]Defense News, Dutch Navy to buy armed sidekick ships for its air-defense frigates, 25.09.2024, Singapore[9]SIPRI, Slovakia[10]SIPRI[11]Globes, Slovakia buys IAI air defense system in €560m deal, 23.12.2023 and Venezuela[12]SIPRI.
As of May 2025, Greece is in negotiations with Israel and IAI on purchasing Barak MX in a deal estimated at several hundred million dollars.[13]CTech, How a hand-drawn sketch became a $10 billion air defense missile system, 06.05.2025
Variations: Barak-1, Barak-8, Barak-ER, Barak-MX
Use by Israeli Forces
The Barak system is operational in the Israeli Army since 1992. It was operational in the second Lebanon war and was installed on an Israeli combat vessel, that was hit. Later, the army explained that the Barak system analyzed the hitting missile as a friendly Israeli fighter jet. [14]Investigation: Officer on Warship disonnected alarm system
The Israeli army conducted two big live tests of the Barak-8 system at 2009 and 2014.[15]Haaretz : Navy conducted experiment on advanced missiles
The Barak system is used on many Israeli Navy ships including the Sa’ar 4.5 and Sa’ar 5, both operational as part of the naval siege on the Gaza strip. That said, we do not have any documentation of operational use of the Barak systems in that context.