Rome airport said to drop Israeli Rafael anti-drone system after court ruling

Rome’s Leonardo da Vinci–Fiumicino International Airport, the Italian capital’s main airport, has canceled a contract with Israeli state-owned defense contractor Rafael Advanced Defense Systems to operate an anti-drone system following a court ruling, Italian newspaper Il Messaggero reported Thursday.

The contract with Rafael to operate an anti-drone system designed to detect and counter unauthorized drones was invalidated after government technicians determined that the system installed at the airport was military rather than civilian and therefore lacked the necessary permits, according to the report.

The airport authority defended its use of the system, saying similar technology was deployed elsewhere in Europe.

The agreement, signed in 2022, will be transferred to an Italian contractor, Il Messaggero said.

The cancellation comes during a period of growing strain between Italy and Israel.

In April, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s government declined to renew a longstanding defense cooperation agreement with Israel, due to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.

“In consideration of the current situation, the government has decided to suspend the automatic renewal of the defense agreement with Israel,” she said at the time.

The memorandum, first signed in 2003 and ratified in 2005, provided a framework for cooperation in defense and scientific research and had been renewed automatically every five years.

Israel downplayed that decision at the time, with the Foreign Ministry saying the memorandum had never contained “any substantive content” and that its expiration would not affect Israeli security.

Relations were further strained in May this year after National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir posted footage of himself taunting detained activists from a Gaza-bound flotilla, several of whom were Italian citizens. Meloni called the video “unacceptable,” demanded an apology over their treatment and summoned Israel’s ambassador to Rome.

In addition, she wrote on X that her government was taking immediate steps at the highest levels to secure the release of all Italian citizens who were detained.

Meloni’s right-wing government had previously maintained particularly close ties with Israel, but with many Italians taking to the streets to denounce Israel since the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led massacre and ensuing war in Gaza, Meloni’s right-wing government has been under pressure over its position on the conflict.