Barak Magen makes debut: Israel deploys new air defence system against Iranian strikes — How does it work?
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According to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), eight Iranian drones were intercepted overnight by Sa'ar 6-class missile corvettes patrolling Israel's coastal waters. The interception marked the first operational use of the Barak Magen system and its long-range LRAD interceptor, with all threats neutralised before any damage occurred. 'The Navy's missile boat flotilla intercepted eight drones launched from Iran,' the IDF said.
'This was the first operational use of the 'Barak Magen' air defense system and the long-range interceptor 'LRAD'.'
The engagement unfolded amid an escalation in hostilities between Israel and Iran, with the IDF claiming to have intercepted at least 25 drones since the conflict intensified. The use of drone swarms by Iran reflects a broader strategic shift towards low-cost, expendable unmanned systems to probe and challenge Israeli defences.
Deployed aboard the Israeli Navy's newest Sa'ar 6-class corvettes, the Barak Magen system was developed by Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) to counter a wide spectrum of threats — including drones, cruise missiles, and ballistic projectiles — with high precision and rapid response capabilities.
What is the Barak Magen defense system?
Barak Magen is an advanced naval air defense system developed by
Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI)
to defend warships against a variety of aerial threats in complex maritime environments.
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Its first public use came in June 2025, when it intercepted Iranian drones targeting Israel.
Key capabilities:
Multi-layered protection: Capable of neutralising drones, cruise missiles, sea-skimming missiles, ballistic threats, and even enemy aircraft.
Long-range interception: Utilises the LRAD (Long-Range Active Defense) interceptor missile, which can engage targets at distances exceeding 150 km.
Advanced detection: Integrated with the EL/M-2248 MF-STAR radar, providing 360-degree threat detection and tracking, supported by electro-optical sensors for precision targeting.
Modular architecture: Can be adapted to various platforms, currently deployed on Sa'ar 6-class corvettes, which safeguard Israel's Exclusive Economic Zone and offshore energy assets.
Barak Magen was built to address the rising threat of asymmetric aerial attacks, particularly drone swarms and precision munitions launched by adversaries like Iran and its proxies. Unlike land-based systems such as Iron Dome or David's Sling, Barak Magen is tailored for naval operations, providing rapid-response defense against incoming threats from both air and sea.
The system's debut signals a doctrinal shift in Israeli defence, prioritising maritime air superiority to secure strategic interests at sea. As offshore gas production grows in importance, systems like Barak Magen offer a critical shield for Israel's economic infrastructure.
Its integration with compact yet heavily armed Sa'ar 6-class warships illustrates a modern naval approach — using agile, multi-role vessels equipped with cutting-edge technology to counter increasingly complex threats.
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First Post
7 hours ago
- First Post
Why Microsoft workers have taken over company's main campus in Washington
Dozens of current and former Microsoft employees congregated at the tech firm's campus in Washington on Tuesday afternoon to protest against the company's contracts with Israel. The employees, who were also joined by locals, are part of the No Azure for Apartheid group, which itself is part of the No Tech for Apartheid movement The No Azure for Apartheid group took over part of Microsoft's campus which spans around 500 acres in Redmond and recently underwent redevelopment. They set up tents and declared the area a 'liberated zone'. Image courtesy: @NoAz4Apartheid Microsoft has a problem. Its workers in Washington, DC, are in an uproar – and have taken over part of the company's main campus. The issue at hand? The company's defence contracts with Israel. An employee group within the firm has been pressuring the company to cut its ties with Israel. The development came less than a week after Microsoft said it was launching an independent probe into the use of its Azure software. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD This isn't the first time the employees have raised a hue and cry. But what happened? What do we know? Let's take a closer look: What happened? Dozens of employees, as well as former members of the firm, congregated on Microsoft's campus in Washington on Tuesday afternoon. The employees, who were also joined by locals, are part of the No Azure for Apartheid group – which itself is part of the No Tech for Apartheid movement. The group took over part of the campus which spans around 500 acres in Redmond and recently underwent redevelopment. They set up tents and declared the area a 'liberated zone'. The group said they had changed the name of the area from the East Campus Plaza to 'The Martyred Palestinian Children's Plaza.' They also set up artwork that honoured those who died in Gaza. This included shrouds and a large plate that stated 'Stop Starving Gaza.' They also set up a table with a sign asking Microsoft management to 'come to the table' and cut ties with the Israeli military. The group also published an open letter and manifesto entitled 'We will not be cogs in the Israeli genocidal machine: a call for a Worker Intifada'. The group has called on Microsoft employees to voice their objections, walk off their jobs, and go on strike until Microsoft ceases to do business with the Israeli government and military. The No Azure for Apartheid group has also slammed Microsoft's decision for banning terms such as 'Gaza,' 'genocide,' and 'apartheid' in their internal communications. The group said around 50 people had attended the beginning of the event. Microsoft employs nearly 50,000 people at its Redmond campus. Why are the employees doing this? Hossam Nasr, an ex-Microsoft employee who is leading the protest, said the group had taken this decision because Microsoft refused to respond to their concerns surrounding the use of Azure. Azure is Microsoft's cloud-computing division. It sells software to businesses and governments as well allows them to store data on its servers. The Israeli government and its agencies are among the clients of Azure. An investigation this month revealed that an Israeli military surveillance unit is using Microsoft's Azure software to record phone calls of Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza. Israel is said to have used this information to choose the locations on which to drop bombs. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Nasr told The Guardian, 'We are here because over 22 months of genocide, Israel — powered by Microsoft — has been killing, maiming Palestinian children every hour'. Nasr also cited the death of Al-Jazeera journalist Anas al-Sharif at the hands of the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) as a reason for this fresh protest. Anas was among five journalists killed in a strike by Israel earlier this month. 'I watched him report on Gaza relentlessly, through starvation, through extermination campaigns, through bombing. He was the voice of the business. He was intentionally targeted,' Nasr, 26, said. Critics of Israel have long accused them of conducting a genocide in Gaza and targeting journalists covering the war. Israel disputes such allegations, however the increasing number of journalists killed in Gaza suggests otherwise. Hossam Nasr, an ex-Microsoft employee who is leading the protest, said the group had taken this decision because Microsoft refused to respond to their concerns surrounding the use of Azure. Image courtesy: Hossam Nasr, an ex-Microsoft employee who is leading the protest, said the group had taken this decision because Microsoft refused to respond to their concerns surrounding the use of Azure. Image courtesy: @NoAz4Apartheid Nasr was earlier fired for leading a protest against Microsoft. The firm has sacked a few members of the No Azure for Apartheid group for holding unauthorised events and disrupting these speeches of its top executives. The latest protests have been clearly inspired by uprisings against Israel on US college campuses. Many students had called for US colleges to cut ties with Israel and adopt the BDS movement, or Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions, movement. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD 'Microsoft is the most complicit digital arms manufacturer in Israel's genocide of Gaza,' Microsoft employee Nisreen Jaradat said in a statement on Tuesday. Jaradat told The Guardian, ' Every single second that we wait, things are worse and worse in Palestine. People are getting hungrier and hungrier. More and more people are being bombed and maimed. It's time for us to escalate, however we can.' Julius Shan, another Microsoft employee, added, 'I think we are inspiring conversation among the people who work at Microsoft to feel more comfortable talking about this with each other and about how their work is contributing to genocide'. Some experts have accused Israel of conducting a genocide in Gaza. The United Nations has warned that Gaza faces widespread starvation and disease. The Gaza Health Ministry has said that at least 62,000 Palestinians have been killed since the start of the war – which Israel launched as a response to the October 7, 2023, attacks by Hamas. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The group had said it would remain in the plaza until it was forcibly removed. An hour into the protest, a police officer showed up to warn them they were press passing on private property and that there would be arrested. The demonstrators then left the plaza and set up on a sidewalk –which organisers said was public property. A Microsoft spokesperson said the group 'was asked to leave, and they left'. The company in May claimed it had 'found no evidence to date that Microsoft's Azure and AI technologies have been used to target or harm people in the conflict in Gaza'. However Microsoft has since enlisted the Covington & Burlin law firm to conduct an independent review. Previous protests by Microsoft employees This isn't the first time Microsoft employees have taken the company to task over its ties to Israel. In April, Vaniya Agrawal, an Indian-origin engineer, slammed Microsoft's top leadership at a companywide party in Washington. Microsoft at the time was holding an event to celebrate its 50th anniversary with leaders such as Bill Gates, Steve Ballmer, and Satya Nadella in attendance. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Vaniya Agrawal later sent an email announcing that she is leaving Microsoft. LinkedIn 'Shame on you all. You're all hypocrites,' Agrawal said at the time. 'Fifty thousand Palestinians in Gaza have been murdered with Microsoft technology. How dare you. Shame on all of you for celebrating on their blood. Cut ties with Israel,' she said. Agrawal was escorted from the event and booed by some fellow Microsoft employees. She later took to LinkedIn to announce her exit from the firm. That same event also saw Ibtihal Aboussad, another Microsoft employee, disrupting the speech of AI chief Mustafa Suleyman. 'Mustafa, shame on you,' Aboussad yelled – which caused Suleyman to halt his address. 'You claim that you care about using AI for good but Microsoft sells AI weapons to the Israeli military. Fifty-thousand people have died and Microsoft powers this genocide in our region.' 'Thank you for your protest, I hear you,' Suleyman responded. But Aboussad wasn't finished. She proclaimed that 'all of Microsoft' has blood on their hands and threw a keffiyeh on stage. The scarf has become a symbol of support for Palestinian people. Aboussad too was removed from the event. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD In February, five Microsoft employees were thrown out of an internal meeting with Nadella for protesting against the contracts with Israel. More than 60 Microsoft shareholders holding $80 million in the firm have demanded a review to see Microsoft's contracts with Israeli firms are contravening human rights in Gaza. The proposal will likely be taken up at the company's annual general meeting in December.
Time of India
8 hours ago
- Time of India
Microsoft sees biggest escalation yet of protests over Palestine; "Liberated Zone" created in campus and more
Microsoft employees occupied company headquarters Tuesday in the most significant protest yet against the tech giant's contracts with Israel, establishing an encampment they renamed " Martyred Palestinian Children's Plaza ." Around 50 current and former Microsoft workers, alongside community supporters, took over the East Campus Plaza at the company's Redmond, Washington headquarters as part of escalating demonstrations by the " No Azure for Apartheid " group. The protesters set up tents, erected memorials to Gaza casualties, and established a negotiating table inviting Microsoft executives to "come to the table" and end partnerships with the Israeli military. The demonstration ended after approximately two hours when police ordered protesters to leave, threatening arrests for trespassing. A Microsoft spokesperson confirmed the group "was asked to leave, and they left" but provided no additional comment beyond previous statements. Employees demand complete divestment from Israeli partnerships The activists distributed a manifesto titled "We will not be cogs in the Israeli genocidal machine: a call for a Worker Intifada," demanding Microsoft cut all ties with Israel, call for an end to the conflict, pay reparations to Palestinians, and stop discriminating against pro-Palestinian workers. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like The 5 Books Warren Buffett Recommends You To Read in 2025 Blinkist: Warren Buffett's Reading List Undo The group has spent over a year pushing Microsoft to end its relationship with Israel, arguing the company's Azure cloud platform contributes to civilian deaths in Gaza by serving Israeli government and military agencies. Several organizers have been terminated for holding unauthorised campus events and disrupting executive speeches, including interruptions of CEO Satya Nadella's presentations. Investigation reveals surveillance concerns amid ongoing worker resistance The protest follows recent reporting by The Guardian and +972 Magazine revealing Israel's military surveillance unit stored millions of Palestinian phone calls on Azure servers, with that data helping inform Gaza bombing targets. Microsoft enlisted law firm Covington & Burling to conduct an independent review of these allegations, though the company maintains it has "found no evidence" its technologies have been used to target civilians. The demonstrations were also motivated by the recent targeted killing of prominent Al Jazeera journalist Anas al-Sharif , according to protester Hossam Nasr, a former Microsoft employee who was fired last year for organizing a Palestine vigil.
News18
10 hours ago
- News18
Microsoft Staff Stage Sit-In At HQ Over Company's Israel Links: 'Gaza Is Being Bombed'
Microsoft employees staged a sit-in at the Redmond campus, accusing the company of enabling Israeli military operations in Gaza. Dozens of Microsoft employees and former staff staged a sit-in at the company's campus in Redmond, Washington, accusing the tech giant of enabling Israeli military operations in Gaza through its software. The demonstrators, who declared part of the campus a 'Free Zone", held placards reading 'Join the Worker Intifada – No Labor for Genocide" and 'Martyred Palestinian Children's Plaza". The protest was organised by the activist group No Azure for Genocide, which has been calling on Microsoft to end contracts with Israel and divest from the country. It comes less than a week after Microsoft said it had launched an independent review into claims that its Azure cloud services were being used by the Israeli military for surveillance. Anger Over Surveillance Claims Earlier this month, reports in the Guardian and Israel's +972 Magazine alleged that Israel's military intelligence unit, Unit 8200, had used Azure to store mobile phone recordings of Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza. The company denied knowledge of such practices, saying, 'We are not aware of the surveillance of civilians or collection of their cellphone conversations using Microsoft's services. Based on these reviews, including interviewing dozens of employees and assessing documents, we have found no evidence to date that Microsoft's Azure and AI technologies have been used to target or harm people in the conflict in Gaza." One protester, former employee Hossam Nasr, said the action was prompted by what he described as Microsoft's inadequate response. He said, 'I watched [journalist] Anas al-Sharif report on Gaza relentlessly, through starvation, through extermination campaigns, through bombing. He was intentionally targeted." Another employee, Nasreen Jaradat, said, 'Every single second that we wait, things are worse and worse in Palestine. More and more people are being bombed and maimed. It's time for us to escalate, however we can." The protest comes amid growing concern from international organisations about the humanitarian situation in Gaza. The UN has warned of 'widespread starvation, malnutrition and disease", while health authorities in Gaza estimate more than 62,000 Palestinians have been killed since Israel launched its military response to Hamas's 7 October attacks. view comments First Published: August 20, 2025, 16:39 IST Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Loading comments...
