Israel’s defense technology enabled a “new era” of warfare against Iran, former Israeli minister Yuval Steinitz said on Monday, crediting advanced systems developed by Rafael Advanced Defense Systems with decisive battlefield achievements.
Speaking at the second annual JNS International Policy Conference in Jerusalem, Steinitz, board chairman of Rafael, described the recent conflict with Iran as “a new kind of war in global history,” marked by rapid, technology-driven operations.
"According to Wikipedia," he joked, "there were 200 airplanes involved in that opening salvo. Iran didn’t see single one." pic.twitter.com/mbnzPacbPi
— Jerusalem News Syndicate (@JNS_org) June 22, 2026
Steinitz, who served in several Cabinet positions, including as minister of intelligence, and minister of strategic affairs, said the opening phase of “Operation Rising Lion” in June 2025 lasted about 10 seconds and eliminated Iran’s top military leadership, including senior commanders, intelligence officials and nuclear scientists. A follow-up phase over roughly 36 hours secured Israeli air superiority, he added.
“In the first seconds of the conflict, all top commanders were targeted—something that has never happened before,” he said, calling the achievement unprecedented.
Israeli aircraft operated undetected over Iran during the initial strike. “They didn’t see even one airplane,” he said.
Steinitz said the operation relied heavily on Israeli scientific and technological capabilities, particularly those developed by Rafael. He cited a letter sent to the company by the commander of the Israeli Air Force after the war, which he quoted as saying, “Without Rafael we could have done nothing.”
Calling the outcome a “clear, decisive” victory, Steinitz said Israel’s defense industry holds capabilities that “no other country, not even great superpowers, can compete with,” while underscoring the importance of continued cooperation with the United States.
Nagel outlines post–Oct. 7 military vision
Brig. Gen. (res.) Jacob Nagel, a former acting Israeli national security adviser, told the JNS Policy Summit on Monday that Israel must pivot from a doctrine of defense to one of “prevention and offense,” calling it “one of the most important recommendations of our committee.”
He said the core finding of the “Nagel Committee to evaluate force building and the security budget” that he chaired was that the Oct. 7 disaster “did not occur due to lack of budget or size of the army,” but that Israel must build a force designed to win the long war that follows such a shock.
Nagel named Iran as Israel’s main strategic threat and outlined priorities for force buildup: countering Tehran’s nuclear program, weakening the regime, targeting enrichment sites, “especially underground facilities,” and damaging its ballistic-missile project. He argued that the war has pushed back the nuclear weaponization timeline, saying, “We are five years from a bomb—not eight months from a bomb.”
On the defense budget and U.S.–Israel ties, Nagel said the committee concluded that “a strong economy needs security, and security needs a strong economy,” and reaffirmed support for a “people’s army” based on equal, compulsory service.
Acknowledging that “Israel will never be totally independent on what we need to defend ourselves,” he insisted that Washington would not block Israel from acquiring key platforms and dismissed concerns that the 10-year defense Memorandum of Understanding with the U.S. limits Israel’s freedom of action, saying it “doesn’t have anything to do” with American pressure on Jerusalem.
