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Yaakov Lappin

Yaakov Lappin

Yaakov Lappin is an Israel-based military affairs correspondent and analyst. He is the in-house analyst at the Miryam Institute; a research associate at the Alma Research and Education Center; and a research associate at the Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies at Bar-Ilan University. He is a frequent guest commentator on international television news networks, including Sky News and i24 News. Lappin is the author of Virtual Caliphate: Exposing the Islamist State on the Internet. Follow him at: www.patreon.com/yaakovlappin.

Elbit Systems' C-MUSIC defense system installed on an aircraft. Credit: Elbit Systems.
Analysis
Made in Israel: ‘The laser beam disrupts the missile’s seeker head’
An Elbit representative tells JNS how the company’s C-MUSIC system shields airliners from heat-seeking missiles, as global demand grows
Oct. 8, 2026
Yaakov Lappin
The Volkswagen automobile factory in Osnabrueck, Germany, March 27, 2026. Photo by Hesham Elsherif/Getty Images.
Analysis
‘A sign of how much Israel has grown in strength’
A plan to establish Israeli defense production at a former Volkswagen plant marks a milestone for defense exports, former intelligence officer tells JNS.
Oct. 5, 2026
Yaakov Lappin
Israel Aerospace Industries’ Barak MX air-defense system. Morocco has acquired the Israeli-made system as defense ties between Jerusalem and Rabat continue to expand. Credit: IAI.
Analysis
Morocco buying ‘both defensive and offensive’ capabilities from Israel
A Western observer tells JNS that Morocco’s growing purchases of Israeli defense technology reflect a wider regional shift as Israeli firms prepare for next week’s Marrakech Airshow.
Oct. 1, 2026
Yaakov Lappin
Jewish fighter jet
Analysis
Debunking ‘NAZA': ‘No strike was ever decided based on an algorithm’
An Israeli military source describes the multi-stage process the IDF uses to approve airstrikes in Gaza.
Sept. 27, 2026
Yaakov Lappin
Iran's then-Interior Minister Mostafa Pour-Mohammadi delivers a speech during a gathering of war veterans and families to support their country's nuclear program at the mausoleum of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini in Tehran on March 5, 2006. Photo by Behrouz Mehri/AFP via Getty Images.
Analysis
‘Pickaxe Mountain site must disappear or be incapacitated’
Iran is preparing the site as a substitute enrichment site, former Israeli National Security Adviser Jacob Nagel tells JNS.
Sept. 25, 2026
Yaakov Lappin
This frame grab from AFPTV video footage on June 21, 2026, shows an explosion at Qatar's Ras Laffan industrial zone, home to the world's largest liquefied natural gas hub, as the result of a "technical incident," according to the Gulf state's interior ministry. Photo by AFPTV/AFP via Getty Images.
Analysis
Qatar’s propaganda machine could be ‘first casualty’ of LNG collapse
Qatari liquefied natural gas exports plunged 96% amid fallout from Iranian strikes on its energy sites.
Sept. 22, 2026
Yaakov Lappin
An IDF rabbi blows a shofar atop an armored D9 bulldozer. Credit: IDF.
Feature
‘A new year begins for everyone': IDF marks High Holidays behind enemy lines
A short prayer has been composed for combat soldiers who must eat on Yom Kippur, Lt. Col. Rabbi Udi Schwartz, head of the Military Rabbinate’s Halacha Department, tells JNS.
Sept. 20, 2026
Yaakov Lappin
Followers of Yemen's Houthis participate in a rally to celebrate the group's takeover of the strategic port city of Mocha and the Bab El-Mandeb Strait on September 11, 2026, in Sana'a, Yemen. Photo by Mohammed Hamoud/Getty Images.
Analysis
Saudi Arabia’s request for help from Israel is ‘an opportunity’
Western observer tells JNS that Israel should seek tangible returns rather than being a silent partner.
Sept. 17, 2026
Yaakov Lappin
An IDF jeep at Beaufort Castle in southeastern Lebanon on July 9, 2026. Photo by Kostis Konstantinou/TPS-IL.
Analysis
Ali Taher demolition ‘means Hezbollah lost an operating system’
Destruction of the Badr Unit’s underground command network gives Israel a “physical, not just diplomatic” card to hold in any negotiation, former IDF officer tells JNS.
Sept. 14, 2026
Yaakov Lappin
Mojtaba Khamenei
Analysis
Iranian regime ‘running out of options’
Observers weigh whether financial strangulation raises the odds of an Iranian strike.
Sept. 8, 2026
Yaakov Lappin
Hezbollah weapons, including anti-tank launchers, mortar rounds, explosives and ammunition, recovered by Israel Defense Forces soldiers during an operation in the village of Majdal Zoun in Southern Lebanon, July 2026. Credit: IDF Spokesperson's Unit.
Analysis
How the IDF clears Hezbollah’s explosive-rigged terrain in Southern Lebanon
Military source says combat in the sector is saturated with booby traps, describes nightly procedure of observation, tank fire and drone scans before every building entry.
Sept. 2, 2026
Yaakov Lappin
Syria's then-interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan pose during a joint press conference following their meeting at the Presidential Palace in Ankara on Feb. 4, 2025. Photo by Ozan Kose/AFP via Getty Images.
Analysis
‘Turkish intelligence has become highly influential in Syria’
Israeli strikes reflect concern over Ankara-backed Syrian rearmament and Islamist rule, former IDF officer tells JNS.
Aug. 27, 2026
Yaakov Lappin