Israel completes testing of 22 advanced anti-drone technologies, moves toward deployment

Israel has finished testing 22 technologies designed to defend against drone attacks, the Ministry of Defense announced Wednesday.

“Sources said that at least some of the methods of defense from drones that were tested successfully involved kinetic shoot-downs,” the Jerusalem Post reported.

It added, however, that “no defense officials would confirm…when the new systems would be reliable and operational on a wide basis.”

The announcement of the completion of the tests comes several months after Israel’s Ministry of Defense conducted similar demonstrations.

At the time, the Ministry of Defense said it aimed to deploy some of the technologies “within months.”

“After analyzing the trial results, the Ministry of Defense will select several technologies to enter an accelerated development and production process,” the statement said after the tests in October. “This aims to deploy new operational capabilities within months. CEOs of defense industries and senior officials from the IDF and Ministry of Defense attended the trial.”

Companies showcasing their technologies in the recent series of tests included Elbit Systems, Israel Aerospace Industries, Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, and several others.

Retired Brigadier General Dr. Daniel Gold, the head of the Department of Defense’s Research and Development (DD&RD), stated “the defense establishment is determined to complete a comprehensive defensive response to the drone threat, as we have done for threats in the upper layers [of the atmosphere].”

“In this series of follow-up trials,” Dr. Gold added, “we witnessed the advancement of sophisticated drone interception capabilities, which will now enter an accelerated development process under DDR&D leadership.”

Defense Minister Israel Katz said that Israel “will act to ensure maximum protection for our citizens and forces on the ground against UAVs from Iran, Yemen, Lebanon, and any arena where we may be required to respond.”