The IDF has deployed the first Vulcan cannon on the northern border in recent days, with the aim of intercepting drones launched from Lebanon into Israel. The cannon was created by the Israeli company Tamir, and the IDF will mark the cannon's effectiveness in its operational area in the north, as reported on the Maariv website.
In recent months, there has been much talk about the deadly drone threats that the Iron Dome does not always manage to detect and intercept, and as a reminder, in the crash of the UAV in the Golani Brigade base, four soldiers were killed and many others were injured. Now it seems that the IDF has begun to step up and fight this threat with all its might.
Additionally, the Ministry of Defense recently published a call for proposals to all Israeli industries to find a system that will improve the IDF's interception of UAVs in Israeli airspace. The IDF recently stated that the Vulcan guns, which were previously used by the air defense system, are effective for closing small and limited areas, but in the past, they were less effective in securing the northern border area, among other reasons due to the topographical structure of the border between Israel and Lebanon.
Additionally, after the announcement that Israel's response to the UAV disaster would be significant, a dramatic decision was made in Israel. According to a report on the 'Maariv' website, the IDF has decided to eliminate all operatives in Hezbollah's Unit 127, responsible for launching drones towards Israel. According to the report, the Air Force received explicit instructions to eliminate all members of the unit, from its senior officials to its last operators, in an operation that could affect hundreds of militants.
Meanwhile, Defense Minister Yoav Galant, Minister of Innovation, Science, and Technology Gila Gamliel, Director General of the Ministry of Defense Major General (Res.) Eyal Zamir, Deputy Chief of Staff Major General Amir Baram, and Head of the Directorate for Defense Research and Development, Brigadier General (Res.) Dr. Danny Gold, led a first-of-its-kind experiment to identify and prove new capabilities for intercepting UAVs. In light of the evolving challenge, the Defense Minister instructed a few weeks ago to conduct an accelerated competitive process to find interception solutions.
The experiment took place in a testing field in the south of the country, with the participation of eight Israeli industries, from the largest (Elbit Systems, Rafael, and the Israel Aerospace Industries) to startup companies, which presented technological solutions for intercepting UAVs. Solutions that met the threshold conditions in the demonstration phase will advance to the accelerated development and operational testing phase.
As part of the competition, the defense industries showcased prototypes of interception systems, developed under the leadership of Mafat, demonstrating the ability to intercept UAVs at various ranges and altitudes. Upon completion of the analysis of the experimental results, the Ministry of Defense will select several technologies that will enter an accelerated development and production process. This is with the aim of deploying new operational capabilities within a few months. The experiment was attended by the CEOs of the defense industries and senior officials from the IDF and the Ministry of Defense.
Defense Minister Yoav Galant: "The UAV threat is a multi-faceted threat originating from Iran, which supplies UAVs to Lebanon, Yemen, and Iraq, and even launches them itself." In light of this threat, we must concentrate a national effort from all the bodies involved in the matter, in order to create operational solutions within a short timeframe.
From the very beginning of the war, the Ministry of Defense and Mafat have been leading the issue. The competition that took place yesterday, where both small and large defense industries showcased a variety of solutions from the most sophisticated to simple ones, moves us one step forward.