Inexpensive fiber-optic drones are challenging Israel’s high-tech defenses, shifting the military balance in the Middle East.
A recent video showing an explosive-laden drone striking an Israeli Iron Dome battery couldn’t have been more symbolic: Israel’s famous air-defense system, which cost billions of euros, looked powerless against a small aircraft that cost a few hundred euros.
While the video’s authenticity has not yet been verified, experts believe it is genuine.
The footage was published about a week ago by Hezbollah, a Lebanon-based pro-Iranian militia, which Germany, the US and several Sunni Arab states have classified as a terrorist organization.
The drone strike, if genuine, would mark propaganda victory for Hezbollah and reveal a significant vulnerability in Israel’s military capabilities.
I mean, no shit.
The hubris in thinking that your limited-number missiles can’t be overwhelmed by sheer numbers ffs.
It seems that Iron Dome,like the Patriot, are desgned for the last war, not the current war. Asymmetric deployment of volumes of small&cheap units will overload these systems, or at least cost your opponent too much.
Even aganst peer weapons thay are onlyildly successful. In Ukraine the patriots have intercepted Kinzals,bit will never be able, nor cost effective against Oreshniks (as the split too early)
There is one very cost-effective way to combat cheap drones. Laser systems being developed and deployed now are the logical counter to cheap drone swarms. Those systems have per-shot costs far below even the cheapest of mass produced drones.
DEW weapons are always ‘just about to be deployed’ to change the situation.
It’s never as simple as generating a directed pulse (regardless of the wavelength) if you don’t acquire the target at range, and, environmental conditions are compatible with your weapon system.
I think it’ll get there, but would discourage anyone from believing it’s around the corner until we see shaheeds melting in the video feeds.
How arrogant the Israeli leadership was to think it couldn’t happen to them when it’s been happening on the Ukrainian battlefield for a few years now. With Iranian-made drones no less.
Hell, it happened to Armenia, with Israeli-made drones.
very old news
to the surprise of no one
The Iron Dome isn’t a physical barrier that can’t be passed, missiles have flown through it before.
“Drones” in context of modern battlefield are fancy guided missiles.
It’s a nothingburger
I fucking hate the term “nothingburger”. Just lazy, dismissive bullshit. If you can’t see the significance of this, that’s on you.
The key tonthe article isnt that it got through, ita that the thing that got through is cheap and mass producable. The modern drone battlefield has changed the landscape of war.
they’re taking a page from ukraine on asymmetric warfare and just following the playbook russia and ukraine have been escalating with drone warfare. and iran can get fiber optic from china just like russia.
this is something people aren’t understanding, the disparity in costs - sure western customers can shoot patriots at incoming, but if it’s a $12k shaheed the cost disparity is nosebleed, but you can’t NOT shoot at incoming because the costs of targets on the ground is also nosebleed expensive.
Fuck, iran bagged an E3 sentry awacs on the ground! Millions of dollars of STRATEGICALLY valuable asset, nuked on a fucking tarmac, because some dumbfuck decided to follow Israel into this shitshow.
I’ve been wondering about this for a while, but what does it cost to maintain the iron dome when your batteries are depleted and the missiles are on backorder? It’s not like literally anyone else is fielding this equipment, so what happens when the only customer suddenly needs a tall order every week?
Under normal economic conditions, a tamir missile costs about $80k, and a shahed drone costs about $30k (and dropping). These are not normal conditions, and I expect that Israel is going to have spotty coverage in the coming years.
The worst part is that I’m sure Netanyahu and his ilk have priced all this in and agreed that the casualties and long-term dependence on foreign funding and ordnance is a fair trade for the additional territory. I really hope the Israeli people disagree.
what does it cost to maintain the iron dome when your batteries are depleted and the missiles are on backorder?
Iron Dome is specifically for short range rockets and mortars. David’s Sling is intended to defend against ballistic missiles like those used by Iran. The Arrow System is intended to counter ICBMs as part of a constellation of US based anti-ballistic systems. I’m not sure that last one has been used in more than test shots
Thats what America a is there for
I did see footage of a drone attacking an Iron Dome site. Looked legit for what it’s worth. Literally flew right up to it. Unfortunately no footage of the aftermath from what I saw. Must have been quite the explosion though. Anyway, this is hopeful news. Let’s hope they keep this up and force Israel to back the fuck off.
Literally flew right up to it
Because you don’t see the 99.99% that were stopped at the defenses, that’s why a “swarm attack” would be so devastating.
It’s basically the attack scene from Zion in The Matrix. A steady flow of (relatively) inexpensive attack drones. Most will fail, for a very very long time nothing gets thru. But eventually one slips thru or defenses need to reload, but one slips thru and hits something.
If it hits something important, it’s now easier for every single one to get thru.
This was likely just proof of concept.
Send a wave out, aim at something random, and don’t stop till one gets thru. That is invaluable Intel for when/where to aim a swarm attack. They don’t need to breach everywhere, just one small section bearing insurmountable odds.
It would turn Iran into a super power on the world stage
It’s a new kind of war when one of your best defences is a jar of pickles.
