Israel turns to defense industry for help in bolstering capabilities against drones
Firms including Elbit, Rafael and Israel Aerospace Industries will compete to produce effective technology to detect, intercept drones
The government has turned to the defense industry to bolster the military’s ability to intercept aerial drones launched by Iran or by its proxy terror groups, including Lebanon’s Hezbollah.
The Defense Ministry said Tuesday that it had launched a competition among eight large and small companies.
“After analyzing the trial results, the Defense Ministry will select several technologies to enter an accelerated development and production process. This aims to deploy new operational capabilities within months,” it said.
In addition to missiles, rockets and an array of other arms, Iran, Hezbollah and others have used drones in attacks on Israel, a weapon that has proven tough to counter.
On Sunday, a Hezbollah drone struck the Israel Defense Forces’ Golani Brigade training base near Binyamina, killing four soldiers and injuring dozens, after it eluded Israeli air defense radars.
The unmanned aerial vehicle, laden with explosives, evaded Israel’s multilayered air-defense system and slammed into a mess hall at a military training camp deep inside Israel.
Over the past year of drone and rocket attacks from Iran-supported terrorist organizations in Lebanon, Yemen and Iraq, several drones have succeeded in hitting targets before they could be detected.
Last week, two soldiers were killed when a drone from Iraq hit a base in the Golan Heights, and another drone hit a retirement home with no injuries.
Drones were also used to kick off Hamas’s mass invasion and onslaught of October 7, 2023, successfully disabling electronic monitoring systems along the Gaza border.
“The UAV threat is a multi-arena threat originating from Iran, which supplies UAVs to Lebanon, Yemen and Iraq, and even launches them itself,” said Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.
“We must concentrate the national effort… to produce operational solutions quickly.”
The ministry’s director general, Eyal Zamir, said it had already invested hundreds of millions of shekels in such capabilities.
Those participating include Israel’s top defense firms — Elbit Systems, Rafael and Israel Aerospace Industries.
Over the years, Israel has built up its aerial defense array to provide broad protection against short-range rocket fire and medium- and long-range missiles, although experts caution that it is not airtight. While the system has taken down drones repeatedly, many have penetrated Israel’s airspace and sidestepped its defenses, in some cases with deadly results.
Drones are harder to detect than rockets or missiles because they fly slowly and often include plastic components, having a weaker thermal footprint with radar systems than powerful rockets and missiles. The trajectory is also harder to track. Drones can have roundabout flight paths, can come from any direction, fly lower to the ground and — because they are much smaller than rockets — can be mistaken for birds.
The Times of Israel Community.