Hello everyone, welcome back to another episode of Military TV.
In 2018 when Iraqi forces supported by the U.S. trying to re-take Mosul came
under sustained attack by waves of small, grenade-dropping drones. USAF jets ruled
the skies above, but were of no use against quadcopters flying at a few hundred feet.
Saudi Arabia absorbed a painful strike in September 2019 when an Iranian drone swarm
combined with cruise missiles struck oil fields, causing heavy damage. Also like the incident that
happened recently in northern Iraq, A rocket attack on U.S.-led forces killed a civilian
contractor on Febuary 15, 2021 and injured a U.S. service member, the U.S. coalition in Iraq said.
And it is the deadliest such attack in almost a year. Besides, including a drone attack on
a Saudi airport and a rocket attack on the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad in recent weeks.
So, the attack on Saudi Arabia is the latest tangible example of the evolving threat:
precision-guided, sophisticated enemy air attacks. Longer-range air defense systems, such as the
Patriot, David’s Sling or the S-400 can intercept threats at tens or hundreds of kilometers away.
But today, because state enemies can bypass long-range defenses,
countries must always have the ability to directly intercept the actual munitions.
Drone use has now become widespread, as we have seen in the current Syrian,
Libyan, and Armenian-Azerbaijan conflicts. In an increasing number of cases, armed drones
have destroyed the mobile air defense systems that are supposed to stop them.
The Russian-made Pantsir like SHORAD-IM, a combined gun-and-missile vehicle with
its own radar has suffered badly, with at least 23 reportedly destroyed by Turkish
Bayraktar TB2 and Anka-S drones. Small loitering munitions, effectively kamikaze drones which can
be used in large numbers like the Israeli Harops deployed by Azeri forces may overwhelm defenses.
Azerbaijan has at least four mobile Harop launchers, each able to put up nine of the killer
drones, so a wave might consist of 36 Harops attacking from all directions simultaneously.
Without close-defense capabilities forming part of a country’s multilayer defense systems,
strategic sites are simply not adequately protected. In the context of multilayer
defense development and deployment around strategic sites and sensitive targets,
Israel has taken on the role of global leader. Israel has carried out a test of its air defenses,
which for the first time reveals a highly integrated system that can knock out a broad
spectrum of targets, from maneuvering ballistic missiles to simple drones.
This accomplishment has far-reaching implications, not only for Israel’s defense
capabilities but for the United States. The US Army is in the process of developing an integrated
tactical defense system called the Integrated Air and Missile Defense Battle Command System.
If the Israeli air defense integration is complete, it is probably the first time that
systems optimized for different threats can share threat data and hand off responsibility
to different “tiers” of the defense system. Unlike the US effort, Israel’s integrated
system is national and includes ballistic missile defenses (BMD). The US Army system is tactical and
only attempts to deal with tactical ballistic missile threats and even there relies on the
evolved but still antiquated Patriot system. Above all, the Israeli test for the first time
demonstrated a system that can destroy cruise missiles.
While most of the global focus since the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict has been
on drones as an emerging unconventional threat to traditional military operations,
the cruise missile presents the biggest threat to critical infrastructure installations and
defense bases, both forward operating and fixed bases at the national level. The rise
of high-precision cruise missiles in the hands of second-tier actors such as Iran and Iran’s client
Yemen presents a threat to Israel and to its new-found allies and friends in the Gulf states.
The unacknowledged Iranian attacks on two Saudi Arabian facilities, Abqaiq and Khurais, made clear
that Iran had the ability to fire autonomous drones and cruise missiles and strike targets
at high accuracy without a “man in the loop.” And let's now talk a bit about Israeli air defense
systems, such as David’s Sling and Iron Dome. Firstly, we will see what David’s Sling has.
David’s Sling is a complete air defense system to defeat the full spectrum of air and missile
threats. It is developed by the Israeli defense contractor Rafael Advanced Defense Systems and the
American defense contractor Raytheon, designed to intercept enemy planes, drones, tactical ballistic
missiles, medium- to long-range rockets and cruise missiles, fired at ranges from 40 km to 300 km.
David's Sling is meant to replace the MIM-23 Hawk and MIM-104 Patriot in the Israeli arsenal.
David's Sling serves as a flexible, multipurpose weapons system capable
engaging a range of targets from a dynamic range of platforms.
Furthermore, The system is composed of a two-stage multi-pulse “Stunner” interceptor missile,
which uses electro-optical/IR sensors and a EL/M-2084 AESA multi-mission radar by Elta
Systems for targeting and guidance, and control systems by Elbit systems. It can be mounted on
an array of ground, naval, and aerial platforms, including existing rail and canister launchers,
and the firing units allow for 360° coverage through vertical launch of the missile.
In the last section, we will discuss about Iron Dome.
Iron Dome is a mobile all-weather air defense system developed by Rafael Advanced Defense
Systems and Israel Aerospace Industries in 2007 since the escalation of the conflict.
Iron Dome’s missiles, which cost $20,000 each, are fired from a team-operated battery,
act in conjunction with battery-deployed radar-guided early warning systems.
The Iron Dome relies upon a high-resolution EL/M-2084 Active Electronically Scanned Array
radar to detect and track incoming projectiles. The system is designed to intercept and destroy
short-range rockets and artillery shells fired from distances of 4 kilometers to
70 kilometers away and whose trajectory would take them to an Israeli populated area.
According to its manufacturer, Iron Dome could operate day and night,
under adverse weather conditions, and can respond to multiple threats simultaneously.
For its specifications, Iron Dome has three central components;
- Detection and Tracking Radar - Battle Management & Weapon Control, and
- Missile Firing Unit with 20 ready to fire from container-launchers.
For the radar system EL/M-2084 has been developed by an Israeli defense company,
Elta. While the control system has been built by an Israeli software company,
mPrest Systems, engaged by Rafael. The missile launched by the firing unit of
Iron Dome includes Tamir interceptor missiles. It has several steering fins for high maneuverability
and is equipped with electro-optic sensors. In addition, the Tamir interceptor was designed
for high efficiency and low cost. The missile has 3 m long, weighs 90 kg with 160 mm diameter
and it could reach 5,000 to 70,000 m range. In short, for Israel, these air defense
systems are critical to the national security of the country.
That’s all for today, Thank guys for watching and don’t forget to leave your comment below
if you have a great topic to be discussed in the next video.