An explosion in the Beit Shemesh area on Saturday evening sent waves of panic through the city after the blast was heard during the late-night hours. Tomer, the government-owned defense industry company where it happened, said the explosion was a test planned in advance and carried out according to plan.
A company official described it as a controlled and coordinated explosion. The blast took place on the grounds of Tomer, which develops engines for a range of defensive and offensive missiles across the air, sea, land and space arenas.
Tomer said the test involved work tied to its missile and space-engine programs, including engines for Arrow missiles, Ofek satellite engines and engines for the Rampage, Bar and Barak MX rockets. For people in Beit Shemesh, though, the explanation came only after the noise had already spread concern across the city.
The episode highlights how easily a planned defense test can unsettle a nearby community when a blast is heard without warning. Tomer said the explosion followed its plan, but for residents who heard it on Saturday night, the first impression was not of a controlled test — it was of an explosion that felt real.
