'Another step forward' - Israeli defense industry launches local competition to advance anti-drone tech

Israel is currently confronting a multi-front drone threat from regional terrorist groups backed by the Iranian regime. In response, the Israeli defense sector has been tasked with enhancing the nation's ability to defend against the escalating drone threat.

The Israeli Ministry of Defense announced that eight local defense companies competed on Monday to develop advanced anti-drone technologies.

“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,” the ministry stated.

“The UAV threat is a multi-arena threat originating from Iran, which supplies UAVs to Lebanon, Yemen and Iraq, and even launches them itself,” Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said. The "competition, in which small and large defense industries presented various solutions, from the most sophisticated to simple ones, advances us another step forward."​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

Companies that participated in the competition include Israel's leading defense firms: Elbit Systems, Rafael and Israel Aerospace Industries.

The Defense Ministry has invested hundreds of millions of shekels in developing cutting-edge technologies to counter the drone threat, according to its director general Maj. Gen. (Res.) Eyal Zamir.

"Countering the UAV threat is a critical national priority," Zamir said.

"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," he continued.

Israel’s advanced aerial defense systems have been largely successful in intercepting rockets and missiles. However, intercepting enemy drones has proven more challenging. UAVs are harder to detect due to their lower altitudes, slower speeds, and weaker thermal signatures. Additionally, their flight paths are more difficult to track than those of missiles, and drones are often mistaken for birds, which fly at similar altitudes.

Drone attacks have resulted in the deaths of Israeli soldiers and civilians since the war began.

On Sunday, four Israeli soldiers were killed, and dozens wounded, when a Hezbollah drone with explosives breached Israeli aerial defenses and attacked an IDF military base in northern Israel.

Two Israeli soldiers were recently killed when a drone launched by terrorists from Iraq targeted an IDF based in the Golan Heights. On Yom Kippur, a hostile drone struck a retirement home in central Israel, causing damage.

The Iranian Air Force has become a notable producer of relatively inexpensive drones, which play a key role in Iran's approach to warfare against countries like the United States and Israel. The Iranian drones have also played an important role in Russia’s war against Ukraine. Israel and the United States are both global leaders in drone technologies and are well-positioned to counter the growing drone threat.