Profile
- Type
- Medium- to long-range surface-to-air missile system
- Conflict side
- Azerbaijan
- Origin
- Israel / India
- Service note
- Operational from the mid-2010s
Air Defense
Barak-8
Barak-8 is an Israeli-Indian surface-to-air missile family used for naval and land-based air defense against aircraft, UAVs, cruise missiles, and some ballistic-missile threats. In the Nagorno-Karabakh archive it represents Azerbaijan's higher-end Israeli-supplied air-defense layer, with reported 2020 use against an Armenian ballistic-missile launch.
Service History
- In service
- In export and Israeli/Indian service by the 2010s
- Used by
- Azerbaijani Armed Forces, Israeli Navy, Indian Armed Forces
- Wars
- Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict
Production History
- Designer
- Israel Aerospace Industries and India's Defence Research and Development Organisation
- Designed
- 2000s
- Built by
- Israel Aerospace Industries; Rafael Advanced Defense Systems; Indian DRDOindustry partners for Indian variants
- Unit cost
- Not publicly standardized; varies by battery, interceptor mix, radar, and support package
- Produced
- 2010s-present
- Number built
- Not publicly confirmed
- Variants
- Barak 8 / LR-SAM, MR-SAM, Barak MX, Barak ER
Specifications
- Role
- Medium- to long-range surface-to-air and missile-defense system
- Interceptors
- Barak SR, MR, LR, and ER family interceptors depending on configuration
- Engagement range
- IAI lists Barak MX interceptors from 15 km to 150 km; MDAA lists Barak 8 at 100 km and Barak 8ER at 150 km
- Guidance
- Active RF seeker with networked battle-management and sensor integration
- Launch platform
- Vertical-launch naval modules and mobile land launchers
- Targets
- Aircraft, helicopters, UAVs, cruise missiles, anti-ship missiles, and tactical ballistic missiles
Conflict Usage
- Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict
- Side: AzerbaijanRole: Ballistic-missile and air defense
Reportedly operated by Azerbaijani forces during the 2020 war; multiple reports citing Middle East Eye said an Azerbaijani Barak-8 battery intercepted an Armenian Iskander missile near the end of the fighting, while the underlying Iskander-use details remain disputed.
Barak-8 Images
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BARAK MXPublisher: Israel Aerospace Industries | Note: Supports manufacturer background, system architecture, interceptor family, active RF seeker, and 15-150 km range-family specifications. | Accessed: 2026-06-20Barak 8Publisher: Missile Defense Advocacy Alliance | Note: Supports Barak-8 family background, variants, mobility, range summary, sensors, targets, and export/operator context. | Accessed: 2026-06-20Israeli Defense System Shot Down Russian Missile in Karabakh WarPublisher: The Moscow Times | Note: Supports Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict claim that Barak-8 was used by Azerbaijani military air defense during the 2020 war, while attributing the report to Middle East Eye and an unnamed official. | Accessed: 2026-06-20Did Azerbaijan's Use of Israeli Weapons Make the War Worse or Better?Publisher: The Jerusalem Post | Note: Supports Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict claim that Barak-8 was used by Azerbaijan to intercept an Armenian Iskander ballistic missile, citing Middle East Eye's direct-use report. | Accessed: 2026-06-20Barak 8 at Baku Military ParadePublisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: Supports image provenance for the Azerbaijan Barak-8 parade image, credited to President.az under CC BY 4.0. | Accessed: 2026-06-20Barak 8 LauncherPublisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: Supports image provenance for the eight-missile Barak-8 launcher image under attribution-only terms. | Accessed: 2026-06-20Barak-8 at Paris Air Show 2009Publisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: Supports image provenance for the Barak-8 display image under CC BY-SA/GFDL licensing. | Accessed: 2026-06-20Barak-8 Missile Firing by Kolkata-Class DestroyerPublisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: Supports image provenance for an Indian Navy Barak-8 firing image licensed under the Government Open Data License - India. | Accessed: 2026-06-20