ADME Conference: The Rising Drone Threat
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עברית (Hebrew)
Hezbollah has 200 Iranian drones, Recent Russian announcments saw the beginning of a national drone project and China wants more armed UAVs
Hezbollah currently has some 200 UAVs supplied by Iran. The terrorist organization uses them to monitor events in Lebanon, in addition to providing aid to its fighting forces in Syria.
This according to INSS researcher Liran Antebi at the Tel Aviv ADME Confererce – Air Defense in the Modern Era, organized by INSS and the iHLS news website. Antebi, who specializes in unmanned systems, said that their use is on the rise as their costs drop and availability grows. The main developments in the area are:
- Quick technological advancements
- Cheaper development and production
- Miniaturization
- Availablity
“Some UAV components can be acquired on the internet by anyone,” said Antebi. “These systems are produced by many countries. Recently China and Russia joined the circle of UAV-producing states: Russia with its large-scale national drone project and China with its planned UAV fleet – including armed UAVs. Some smaller countries also began production, such as Nigeria, Ethiopia, Colombia, Venezuela and, of course, Iran.”
iHLS – Israel Homeland Security
Three representatives from Israel’s main defense industries also addresses the conference and reviewed their company’s main contributions:
Yoav Turjeman, Director of IAI’s Malam Division: Arrow-1 was a demonstrator, Arrow-2 is a fully operational missile, Arrow-3’s flight systems were already tested twice. The first interception test will be conducted soon, proving the missile’s worth and having it join Israel’s array of air defense systems. Israel already has an operating ballistic defense system for the last 13 years.
Moshe Patel, Elisra, Elbit: We’ve developed command and control systems for the Arrow and David’s Sling systems. Israeli products are unique in that they’re developed in cooperation with fighters in the field. Our employees are former air defense operators with extensive field experience.
Pini Jungman, Rafael: The Iron Dome system has extensive proven combat experience, with more than 1,000 interceptions. David’s Sling is currently progressing towards maturity. We produce missiles that simulate real threats, necessary for interception tests, and also new products – airborne and grounded electro-magnetic sensors.
The three lauded Israeli developers’ originality, ingenuity and resolve. All over the world projects are halted and scrapped following failures – not in Israel. Here they learn their lessons and move on. Israeli industries use the Hebrew term “pitsur” [equivalent to “protoducing”], or producing while still developing. Challenges facing the Israeli industries include shrinking budgets and a relative lack of cooperation.
