Arie Egozi
Anirvede, Nov. 5, 2022
“…the Iranian UAV program is nevertheless the gravest potential threat to Israel.”
The cooperation between Russia and Iran in operating armed UAV in Ukraine increases the threat of armed UAV swarms that will be used to attack targets in Israel and some Gulf states. In some cases the Iranian armed UAVs transferred to Russia, have been launched in swarms. In one of the attacks, 28 such UAVs have been used to attack targets. Israel is adapting its multi-tiered air defence system, to deal with swarm of low flying armed drones.
In an article written for the official magazine of the Israeli defence forces (IDF) Maarachot, Yair Ramati, former head of the Israeli missile defence directorate in the Israeli ministry of defence, says that the battlefield in Ukraine proved the Russians the importance of precise attack at ranges of hundreds of kilometres. “To fill this gap quickly, Russia turned to purchasing off-the-shelf products from abroad. The range of possible sources that did not require waiting for production available to the Russians was limited. According to the assessment, they included the first and natural candidate – China, but it seems that she was not interested in putting her name in this type of conflict. The second was Turkey, which combines a business problem by being a NATO member and a supplier of anti-aircraft missiles to Ukraine, and a technical one by the lack of attack products of the type that Russia demanded. Therefore, probably without a choice, Iran was the option.”
Ramati writes that the Iranian supplied Russia with two types of “suicides” UAV – Shahad4 131 and 136 and one for reconnaissance and attack called Mohajer 6. “As could be expected from a country that has almost no air force, Iran developed as a replacement the missile arm of its types and drones. These processes, the seeds of which were planted in the 80s and 90s of the 20th century, gradually began to mature. Step by step, Iran cultivated the necessary infrastructure, while relying on high-quality and educated personnel, initially with liquid ballistic missiles with assistance from North Korea, later – the full aeronautical spectrum of combat systems.”
Eden Kaduri, Liran Antebi and Dr Meir Elran, researchers from the Israeli Institute for National Security Studies (INSS) write that the Iranian UAV program is nevertheless the gravest potential threat to Israel. Iran has shown great boldness in UAV attacks against Middle East targets in recent years. In conclusion, the researchers write that Israel must create a comprehensive strategy to address the growing threat posed by UAVs. Additionally, there must be effective solutions for severe situations that now seem improbable to occur yet present a major risk. One instance is when terrorist organizations fly a small rotary drone against Israel while intoxicated (or from within Israeli territory). In terms of strategy, Israel must also keep creating cutting-edge technologies to address the threat presented by UAVs, expand its intelligence operations in this area, and step up its efforts to collaborate with other nations, including its defence export …. Source
