Tel Aviv: European countries are showing great interest in the Israel Drone Dome system that protects against threats posed by armed drones. This peak interest is explained by the heavy use of armed UAV made by the Russians in Ukraine.
Israeli company Rafael has upgraded its Drone Dome system and claims that it is now capable of intercepting in longer ranges and in a variety of soft and hard kill means.
According to Meir Ben Shaya, senior director of business development , air and missile defence division, the upgrades that were introduced are game changing.
The Rafael official added that the Drone Dome now features a maximum detection range of 150 km when using the SIGINT sensor. Jamming can be performed in ranges of 50 km. He pointed to the fact that the upgraded system is capable of detecting possible threats from over 150 km away.
“These unique features bring this combat-proven system to the next level, delivering state-of-the-art performance from long distances.” He added that Drone Dome’s new capabilities include diverse jamming techniques allowing the system to deliver comprehensive defence against attacks from varying distances and altitudes.
Ben Shaya said that the systems is now effective against all types of threats from both Class I and Class II UAVs. Explaining further, Ben Shaya said that the Drone Dome delivers a powerful combined capability that is unique among available C-UAV systems,” and that the upgraded system’s ability to counter class 2 UAVs provides it the capability to defend against different types of UAVs.
The Rafael official said that the Drone Dome has been successfully deployed by a number of NATO, Middle Eastern, and Asian countries – protecting borders, airports, military assets, and major events.
According to the Israeli company Rafael, Drone Dome provides a modular infrastructure for securing airspace that includes electronic sensors for detection and classification, kinetic (laser) and electronic (jammer) effectors for defeat, and special artificial intelligence algorithms.
The company official pointed to the system’s capability to use artificial intelligence to achieve a more accurate image of the approaching threat. “This new feature enables the system to attack and eliminate the target more quickly and effectively as well as detect and identify individual threat aspects more precisely.”
The Rafael official added that the upgraded Drone Dome can integrate data from other sensors with the one coming from its built in ones and this enhances its efficiency against the growing threat.
The war in Ukraine and the massive use of armed UAV’s by the Russians have changed the attitude towards the need in C- UAV systems. Israeli sources say that the interest in the Rafael systems is at a peak and demonstration will be performed soon. Following a demonstration, the US Department of Defence has authorized Rafael Systems Global Sustainment’s Drone Dome counter-drone system to contend for next contracts.
-The writer is an Israel-based freelance journalist. The views expressed are of the writer and do not necessarily reflect the views of Raksha Anirveda
