Tel Aviv: Israel is desperately looking for systems that can counter the attack performed by Iran’s proxies using armed UAVs.
So far no existing systems succeeded in intercepting these armed UAV’s flying low and using the topography to evade detection.
Israel’s Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, and senior ministry officials on October 14 led a first-of-its-kind trial to identify and demonstrate new capabilities for intercepting Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs).
This event showcased various solutions as part of an expedited competitive process initiated by the Defence Minister several weeks prior, to rapidly develop innovative interception solutions in response to the evolving security landscape.
The trial took place at a testing field in southern Israel, with the participation of eight Israeli companies, ranging from major companies (Elbit Systems, Rafael, and Israel Aerospace Industries) to startup firms, presenting technological solutions for UAV interception. Solutions that met the threshold requirements in the demonstration phase will advance to accelerated development and operational testing.
As part of the competition, the defence industries deployed prototypes of their interception systems, developed under DDR&D’s leadership, and demonstrated UAV interception capabilities at various ranges and flight altitudes. After analysing the trial results, the Ministry of Defence will select several technologies to enter an accelerated development and production process. This aims to deploy new operational capabilities within months. CEOs of defence industries and senior officials from the IDF and Ministry of Defence attended the trial.
Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said that the UAV threat is a multi-arena threat originating from Iran, which supplies UAVs to Lebanon, Yemen, and Iraq, and even launches them itself.
“To face this threat, we must concentrate the national effort of all bodies dealing with the issue to produce operational solutions quickly,” he said.
Director General of the IMoD, Maj Gen (Res.) Eyal Zamir said that countering the UAV threat is a critical national priority.
“To date, the Ministry of Defence has invested hundreds of millions of New Israeli Shekels in developing, extensively procuring, and deploying defensive capabilities.”
Following the Defence Minister’s directive, we established an unrestricted ‘green track’ for any entity—a major industry or a startup—that can deliver an effective solution. Our objective is to expedite the development and deployment of new interception systems. These will constitute a more comprehensive defensive strategy with the laser system and other technologies we’re advancing.”
Head of the Directorate of Defence Research and Development (DDR&D), Brig Gen (Res.) Dr Daniel Gold said that this series of trials marks a pivotal advancement in UAV interception capabilities, which will now undergo an accelerated development process under DDR&D’s guidance.
-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
