Editing Rafael Advanced Defense Systems (section)

==History==
[[File:Operation Guardian of the Walls, May 2021. XVIII.jpeg|thumb|Rafael's [[Iron Dome]] air defense and [[Counter Rocket, Artillery, and Mortar|C-RAM]] system]]
[[File:Spike LR 3.jpg|thumb|220px|Israeli soldier with [[Spike (missile)|Spike]] anti-tank missile launcher]]
[[File:Python5-missile001.jpg|thumb|220px|Python-5 (front) and Shafrir 1 (back) missiles]]
[[File:Popey missile.jpg|thumb|220px|[[Popeye (missile)|Popeye standoff missile]]]]
[[File:Trophy-APS--Merkava-4M-pic01-Zachi-Evenor (cropped).jpg|thumb|220px|Rafael's [[Trophy (countermeasure)|Trophy active protection system]], "Windbreaker", on an Israeli [[Merkava#Merkava Mark IV|Merkava Mk IV]] [[main battle tank]]]]

Rafael was established in 1948 as the Science Corps ({{langx|he|חיל המדע}}, known by the acronym HEMED, {{langx|he|חמד}}) under the leadership of [[Shlomo Gur]]. It was renamed the Research and Design Directorate ({{Script/Hebrew|אגף הפיתוח והתיכנון}}) in 1952. In 1952 [[David Ben-Gurion]] decided to split the activities of HEMED into two agencies. The pure scientific research was left with HEMED, while the development of weapons was placed into the new EMET agency.<ref>The bomb is the basement, page 43</ref>

In 1954 Ben-Gurion decided to change the name of EMET to ''RAFAEL'' ({{langx|he|רשות לפיתוח אמצעי לחימה|lit=Armament Development Authority}}).<ref>The bomb is the basement, page 113</ref> It was reorganized as Rafael in 1958.<ref name="merdor">{{cite encyclopedia|title=Science Corps (Hemed)|encyclopedia=IDF in Its Corps: Army and Security Encyclopedia|last=Merdor|first=Monaya M.|publisher=Revivim Publishing|year=1982|pages=17–19|volume=17|language=he}}</ref>

In 1995, [[Yitzhak Rabin]] asked [[Amos Horev]] to become chairman of the board of Rafael, following many years in which Horev had served as chairman of Rafael's advisory committee.<ref name="mit-forumil">{{cite web |url=http://mit-forum.org.il/about/advisory-board/101-amos-horev |title=Amos Horev |publisher=MIT Enterprise Forum |date=January 1, 2001 |access-date=June 17, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110721143533/http://mit-forum.org.il/about/advisory-board/101-amos-horev |archive-date=2011-07-21 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Horev served as chairman until January 2001.<ref name="mit-forumil"/>

===Restructuring as a limited company===
During the early 1990s Rafael was operating at a loss (peaking in 1995, with a loss of $120 million on a turnover of $460 million). Therefore, it was decided to restructure the organization and start operating Rafael as a company. Initially the new company had three discrete divisions, each operating as a profit center, with a separate balance sheet presented to the newly formed management board.<ref>{{cite news|title=Rafael Operating as Gov't Company Since January 1 - Preparatory to Becoming Limited Company|url=http://www.globes.co.il/serveen/globes/docview.asp?did=368672|newspaper=Globes|date=May 1, 1997}}</ref>

The restructuring was completed in 2002 when Rafael was formally incorporated as a [[limited company]] (although still as a [[government-owned corporation]]), while maintaining its technological capabilities through an investment of about 10% of turnover in [[R&D]] programs. In its first year as a limited company, Rafael earned a $37 million profit on $830 million in sales.<ref>{{cite news|title=Rafael 2003 net profit: $37m|url=http://www.globes.co.il/serveen/globes/docview.asp?did=781005|newspaper=Globes|date=March 17, 2004}}</ref> By 2016, Rafael reported annual net profits of 473 million [[Israeli new shekel|ILS]] (roughly 130 million dollars), up 3%, compared with ILS 459 million in 2015. New orders in 2016 totaled ILS 10.7 billion, and sales amounted to ILS 8.32 billion, 6% more than in 2015. The company's orders backlog as of the end of 2016 was ILS 21.72 billion, 12% more than at the end of 2015.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.globes.co.il/en/article-rafael-reports-higher-profit-for-2016-1001181597|title=Rafael reports higher profit for 2016|last=Azulai|first=Yuval|date=March 20, 2017|website=Globes}}</ref>

On October 14, 2007, the company changed its name from Rafael Armament Development Authority Ltd. to Rafael Advanced Defense Systems Ltd.