Brigadier General Ran Kochav

Brigadier General Ran Kochav is an Israel Defense Forces brigadier general who has served as the commander of the Israeli Air and Missile Defense Forces. General Kochav has held a number of command roles within the IDF, including as the commander of the 66th battalion the divisional anti-aircraft officer of the 91st Division before the 2006 Lebanon war and head of the special forces section in the Air Group of IAF (2005-2006).

In 2006, Kochav was appointed the commander of the 136th Battalion 'Protective Sword', which he also commanded during the 2006 second Lebanon war. Upon his return from studies in the US (2008-2009) he was appointed as the head of TRADOC (Training and Doctrine) section of the anti-aircraft command. He led the operational evolution that brought the Anti-Aircraft Forces ('Nun-Mem') to its current structure as the Air and Missile Defence Command ('Hagna'), as well as making Iron Dome operational.  As a commander of IAMD forces he had responsibility for protecting Israel from Palestinian rocket attacks.

In April 2021 he was appointed the IDF's spokesperson.