The Ukrainian An-124 Ruslan transported three launchers of the Spyder air-defense system from Israel to Georgia. Until now, Georgia had not publicly announced the purchase of these new air-defense systems.
The unusual flight was first noticed by users on the social network X.
The military observer Arab-Military, also on X, posted a video showing a truck being loaded into the Ukrainian An-124 at Israel’s Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv.
Later, additional photos taken from the airport terminal were published, showing three Spyder air-defense system launchers being prepared for loading.
وصلت طائرة أن-١٢٤ تابعة للقوات الأوكرانية إلى مطار بن غوريون الإسرائيلي لنقل شحنة عسكرية. ربما نظام باتريوت آخر. pic.twitter.com/DOesTJzlei
— Arab-Military (@ashrafnsier) November 29, 2025
According to civil aviation monitoring services, after departing from Israel the cargo aircraft headed to Georgia, where it eventually landed at Tbilisi International Airport.
Spyder air-defense system in Georgia
It is known that Georgia purchased one battery of the short-range Spyder-SR surface-to-air missile system from Rafael in 2008. The Spyder system is a mobile, all-weather short-range air-defense complex designed to detect and destroy strike aircraft, bombers, cruise missiles, UAVs, and high-precision aerial weapons.
The Spyder-SR uses Python 5 and Derby air-to-air missiles as surface-to-air interceptors and has a stated engagement range of up to 20 km.
In March 2020, it was reported that Georgia planned to carry out a full overhaul and upgrade of the previously acquired air-defense systems.
The scope of the modernization was not disclosed. According to unconfirmed information, the intention was to upgrade the Spyder-SR to the MR version, which would extend the engagement range to 40 km. There has been no public announcement of Georgia purchasing new air-defense systems.
According to the 6×6 wheeled chassis seen in the published photos, the An-124 transported three launchers of the Spyder-SR or MR system. Versions with longer range are built on an 8×8 chassis.
In July 2025 Rafael won the tender to supply Romania’s army with short-range and very-short-range air-defense systems.
According to Defense Romania, the only remaining competitor in the tender was Israel’s Rafael with its SPYDER systems and Derby missiles (SHORAD/VSHORAD) in both short- and medium-range versions, after the European companies MBDA and Diehl were excluded from the competition.
