Iranian UAV threat leaves Israel’s defence industry searching for answers

The Israeli defence industry has been using a combination of existing technologies to meet the rapidly growing challenge of Iranian-built low-flying armed drones which have become an imminent threat since the Israel-Gaza war began on 7 October 2024.

The effort has been classified but it can be said that the upgrade would use a combination of sensors including radar and electro-optical and infrared (EO/IR) capabilities.

Russia’s war in Ukraine has fuelled Iranian attempts to build an impressive production capability of different types of drones. Its drones were first sent to Russia with Iran eventually building a production line in Russia on which it has been constructing new versions of armed drones.

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Since Israeli’s latest war started in October last year, Iranian-built unmanned aerial platforms – some of which are very basic – have been launched by Hezbollah in Lebanon, frequently hitting settlements in northern Israel. Some drones have been intercepted by Israel air defence systems such as the Iron Dome, but due to their low altitude and small radar cross section, some have continued to penetrate Israel air defences.

The drones used by Hezbollah have included the basic Shahed 136. In recent years, Israel has performed hundreds of attacks on convoys carrying Iranian-made weapon systems from Iran via Syria to Lebanon, but those that made it through to Hezbollah have included more advanced drones than the Shahed 136.

According to January 2024 analysis by the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI), the Iranian TV channel IRIB TV1 reported on the “multitudes” of drones being manufactured by Iran’s Ministry of Defence.

The drones, according to the report, included the Arash, Karrar and Ababil-5. All have operational ranges of up to 1,700km and can reportedly be used to carry out precision strikes, perform reconnaissance and intercept hostile aircraft.

According to Matan Yanko-Avikasis and Liran Antebi, senior researchers at the Israeli Institute for National Security Studies (INSS), Iran’s success in the field of drones stemmed from the availability of “off-the-shelf technology” in the world of commercial and civilian content, including navigation devices, encryption tools and engines. All technologies, along with large domestic investment in engineering, have enabled Iran to close the technological gaps between its adversaries and itself, and manufacture and export large quantities of UAVs at attractive prices to a variety of customers.

While Israel sensors and interceptors have been built to hit high-flying UAVs, the models launched by Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Houthis in Yemen, assume a low-flying pattern after launch.

The Ababil 5 drone paraded during Iran Army Day in Tehran in 2022. (Photo: Mizan News Agency)

Tal Inbar, an Israel military analyst and former research fellow at the Missile Defense Advocacy Alliance, said that a major problem facing Israel’s defences was identifying low flying UAVs.

“Israeli companies have developed systems for the soft kill of commercial drones but the Israeli Defence Forces does not use them on a large scale,” Inbar remarked. “The companies will have to develop efficient systems to cope with this fast-growing threat.”

The armed drone threat has been growing at an “unprecedented pace”, according to Israeli military sources, with currently used systems unable to provide sufficient answers to the problem. Additionally, the problem of launching the Iron Dome’s Tamir interceptors comes with a price tag of US$50,000 to intercept a drone which could be unarmed and of the most basic type.

In ongoing discussions about cost-effective solutions, some experts have raised the idea of integrating 20/30mm air defence guns within the existing air defence systems based on interceptors.

According to analysis by Yehoshua Kalisky, a senior researcher at the INSS, Hezbollah has used various types of UAVs for attacks including Kamikaze attacks, as well as to aid intelligence gathering. Israel’s air defence has been coping well, but the UAVs’ advantages – slow flight speed at low altitude and a low-radar signature – have seen them “deceive” detection and defence systems.

“A possible solution to the situation is to upgrade the electromagnetic and digital dimension [of Israeli’s ground defences] and integrate them into appropriate AI systems,” Kalisky suggested.

Brigadier General (retired) Zvika Haimovich, commander of the Israel Air Defense Forces from 2015–18, told Shephard that the threat of multirotor drones had grown in recent years, with some exhibiting “five-hour endurance”.

“Some can fly at altitudes of 5,000 feet and carry 20kg payloads,” Haimovich remarked. “This puts these flying platforms in almost the same level of threat posed by fixed-wing UAV's."

Haimovich added that the UAVs and drones created a category referred to as “light air force”.

“In the past, these unmanned platforms were operated in small numbers,” he noted. “Today this has dramatically changed and without any doubt the numbers will grow with further solutions needed.”

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