The war between Israel and Hamas has been reverberating throughout the whole region since it began almost ten months ago on October 7. In addition to the fighting in Gaza between the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and Hamas, there are other active fronts.
One of those came to the headlines over the weekend, as an armed drone fired by the Houthi rebels in Yemen killed an Israeli and wounded several others as it hit Israel’s financial capital of Tel Aviv. In response, the Israeli air force launched an airstrike against the western port city of Hodeida. Tens of people were reportedly wounded in the strike.
The IDF said human error was at fault for the drone penetration of Israeli airspace. For the Houthi, it was a success after months in which its drones were intercepted.
“The technology has been there for years, and this is not a new threat,” said Tal Inbar, a senior research fellow at the Missile Defense Advocacy Alliance (MDAA). “There was a lack of preparation, and there have been too many mishaps.”
According to the Alma Research and Education Center, Hezbollah has recently begun using a new Iranian-designed UAV with an electric power system. The Shahed 101 suicide drone is believed to have an electro-optical system that sends photos back to its operator in real time, in addition to greater explosive carrying capacity and range. Its electric power system makes its acoustic signature even harder to detect. There is no other confirmation of this report, but it indicates the continuous arms race the region is in, a race that has no end in sight.
A 2021 report by the Israeli state comptroller said the IDF and the police do not have a ‘complete’ response to the drone threat. The report added that most military bases were not equipped with systems that would be able to thwart drones.
Daily exchage of fire at Israel's northern border
“During wars and conflicts, the sides try to challenge each other and look for the weak points in order to take advantage of them,” Inbar told The Media Line.
Throughout the months of the war, Israel’s northern borders with Syria and Lebanon have also witnessed daily exchanges of fire between the IDF and the Lebanon-based Hezbollah organization. The terrorist organization has used hundreds of drones as it fights Israel in what it says is its assistance to Hamas’ war against the Jewish state. Attack drones and sophisticated unarmed aerial vehicles (UAVs) have become one of the added elements of this war, used by both sides.
In one of the moments of heightened tensions during the multi-front war, Iran fired approximately 170 drones toward Israel in April. The attack was the Iranian response to an Israeli attack on the Iranian consulate in Damascus. Israel, the US, and other Western allies of Israel thwarted the attack.
The Houthis, Hezbollah, and Hamas are all organizations sponsored and backed by Iran, Israel’s arch-enemy, a country that has vowed to destroy Israel.
“The drones may have been assembled by Houthi or Hezbollah terrorists, but all the drones fired at Israel since the beginning of the war are manufactured, designed, and financed by Iran,” said Rotem Mey-Tal, CEO of Asgard Systems, a Tel Aviv-based military technology company specializing in the fields of defense, homeland security, and aerospace. “Most of Iran’s defense budget is allocated to its proxies.”
According to defense experts, the drones used by organizations such as Hamas are often bought online from platforms such as eBay and AliExpress. With the help of online workshops, they are then upgraded to military-grade, often carrying grenades, mortar shells, and other explosives. Mey-Tal describes Iran’s hi-tech sector as solely focused on the defense industry, with continuous efforts aimed at tweaking and updating its weapons.
“Iran has a new updated version every quarter,” Mey-Tal told The Media Line. “The drone fired into Israel over the weekend was likely a new updated and upgraded version of the Samad-3 drone that Israel had not encountered yet.”
Israeli media reported the drone used more fuel than usual at the expense of less explosives, enabling it to reach Tel Aviv and eventually explode very close to the US Embassy in the city.
Israel prides itself on its multi-layered air defense systems, which are composed of five different levels. Its Iron Dome system provides defense from short-range rockets, David’s Sling is designed against medium to long-range rockets, tactical and ballistic missiles, the Patriot surface-to-air missile system, and Arrow 2 and 3 systems, which can target ballistic missiles at greater altitudes, also during the space-flight portion of their trajectory. Yet, the UAVs pose a significant challenge.
“Defense is always more expensive than offense,” said Inbar. “Without a doubt, one of the facets of war is the ability to wear down an enemy financially.”
Israel’s airstrike on the Yemenite port reportedly targeted the lifeline of the Houthi rebels. The IDF said the site was the main entry point for Iranian weapons.
For Israel, the cost of its air defense is staggering. Defending Israel in the single night of the Iranian drone and ballistic missile attack is estimated at over one million US dollars. Each Iron Dome interceptor missile is estimated at approximately 50,000 US Dollars. The more sophisticated interceptors that can fly outside the atmosphere are much more costly.
“Israel is the most defended country in the world in terms of air defense, although there cannot be complete 100% defense,” Mey-Tal said. “The challenge that drones pose is great. They fly very low for a very, very long time, and it is very difficult for radars to detect them.”
According to Mey-Tal, the way to thwart the threat is to use satellite imaging and Artificial Intelligence (AI)-based acoustic detection sensors that will recognize the different noises that drones generate and other intelligence abilities.
The Ukrainian military has been frequently using electronic warfare and signal jamming systems to thwart drones, something that has decreased the cost of their interception and is now of great interest to Israel. AI is also expected to play a larger role in these efforts – on both sides.
In response to the recent attack, the Israeli military announced it was beefing up its air defense systems, including increasing the patrols of its fighter jets in an attempt to detect and thwart such attacks.
The deployment of drones and UAVs in military operations is not a new development. While UAVs of various levels of sophistication have been used in warfare since the 1970s, the first widespread use of drones was seen in the Russia-Ukraine war.
“Before the 7th of October, Israel wasn’t paying enough attention,” said Mey-Tal, head of Innovation in Israel at the Israel-Ukraine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCU). “Israel is now looking at the drone industry there very carefully to learn how to make thwarting UAV attacks cheaper.”